Nick Late
by Phantom-Shalnark
Summary: When Nick, a young boy with no recollection of his past life, is brought in by the Guardians after being attacked by Pitch Black two years after his defeat, he finds himself interconnected in a strange web of lies, secrets and the past, and must decide whether to be who he once was - or become something no one ever expected. Rated K-plus for safety, please R&R!
1. Ch 1: Don't talk to strangers

The night was fresh, cold with a hint of slight warmth in the air. No one else was outside, the streets abandoned for the night. Lights could be seen from the house windows on every road, and children were readying themselves for bed. Most of them, anyways.

Nick walked down the road alone. He had pulled down his light blue hood from his short sleeved half jacket, covering his white, long sleeved t-shirt over his bleached jeans and white sneakers. He always liked to wear bright clothing when in the dark, especially when it was snowing. Whenever he saw snowflakes, he felt even happier than usual. He brushed back his white hair from his face, but still it fell over his right eye.

This night, however, was beautiful, and he didn't need both eyes to see it. He sighed, and looked around. He was walking along the sidewalk beside the old forest, the trees overshadowing everything inside of them. It was quite late, and Nick knew that he was going to be late getting home, but why did he care? His secret wasn't going to tell on him.

"Gotta love Burgess." He chuckled. Soon, he came upon a particular house. "The Bennetts." Nick knew them well, because he would usually babysit them on the weekends, when their mother was gone for the day.

Sophie was easy enough to deal with, but Jamie was the real treat. He would always tell Nick about his adventures with the "Guardians", the fantastical beings of his fairy tales. The truth was, Nick did believe in the Guardians, but that would look weird for him to admit out loud, what with him being sixteen.

He started to walk home. Perhaps he would come over and take them off their mother's hands for a while tomorrow.

"**Nick..."** He gasped, and turned around on his heels. There was no one there. He glanced around, and shrugged. "Just the wind." Again, he began to walk away, but the voice called to him.

"**Nick..."** He spun around, but still, he saw nothing but the empty roads. He felt another presence, but didn't know what to do. He didn't see anyone around, but he was sure he had heard someone calling his name.

"**Nick...come..."** He gulped. Yup, there was definitely something strange going on. He looked around, and noticed something. Near the trees leading into the forest, He saw a tall shadow, its arm reaching out to him.

"Who...who's there?" He called out, but it didn't answer. Instead, it backed away. "Hey! Wait!" He yelled at it, but it ignored him. He should have run, or went to the nearest house, or have been smart enough to buy a phone, but he did what you should never do in a situation like this...he ran strait after the shadow.

After a few minutes of running through the dark trees of the forest, Nick stopped and took in his surroundings. There were trees everywhere, most of them evergreens. Bushes and twigs littered the ground, and he heard the occasional skitter of a wild animal.

The moon's light seem to be trying to break through the branches, but to no avail. He looked ahead. The shadowy figure continued to walk away from him, and he thought he could see it grinning. He followed it, until he reached an empty space of dry ground.

In the centre, Jamie told him there used to be an old, rickety wooden bed skeleton, hanging over a large well, but it had disappeared a couple years ago. No one knows where it went. The hole was gone, as well, and Jamie never knew how to explain that one, since it had seemed to go on forever.

He walked out into the middle of the dirt patch, about seven meters in diameter from the centre, and stared down. There were no marks of anything ever being there, as usual. Where had the shadow gone to?

"**Nick..."** He slowly turned to see the shadow smiling at him from behind a large oak tree. "How do you know my name?" He asked in as brave a voice as he could muster. **"Poor boy...nothing but a few measly months for you, huh?"**

He quickly realized what the shadow was talking about. He had never told anyone, but he couldn't remember anything about himself beyond ten months into the past. He didn't want anyone thinking he was crazy, so he pretended to be the new kid in town, and folks seemed just fine with that. He stayed in a small warehouse outside of the town, and as long as he didn't get too close to people, no one would ever find out he was on his own.

"How do you know this?" He took a step forward. "Why are you here? Who are you?" The shadow laughed aloud. **"So many questions, Nick."** He slurred Nick's name, sending shivers up his spine. **"You truly don't remember?"**

Nick froze. Did this shadow know something he didn't? "What are you...talking about?" The shadow hissed, then whistled. It echoed throughout the air, and the temperature suddenly dropped. Nick looked around. He thought he heard...hooves?

"**You shouldn't have come here, Nick."** The shadow began to disappear. **"Never talk to strangers."** It vanished into thin air, and Nick was left alone. Or, so he thought. From out of the trees, a dozen horses came out. However, these weren't ordinary horses.

Each of them had large yellow eyes. There hair wasn't glossy, either, but looked to be a rough, sandy texture, a pure black colour. They were smooth in their movements, ever so carefully pacing around Nick, watching his every move. Their manes moved like fire, wading in and out of their bodies, black sand dispersing from them.

* * *

Nick was now fully surrounded. With each step he took back, the horses moved in closer to him. Soon, they would completely suffocate him. So much for going home... "What kind of trick is this? Hey!" He called out, hoping someone, anyone would hear him. Instead, only the crickets answered him back, and he doubted they would be of any help. 


	2. Ch 2: Horsing around

In a flash, one of the horses charged at him. He barely dodged it, rolling out of the way. It hit the tree and 'poofed' into nothing, but there were still eleven horses to go, and Nick doubted he could barrel roll his way to safety.

He really wished that Jamie's Guardians were here right now. They seemed to be just the type of people – and animals – to fight these things off. Another horse sneered, and jumped at him, and he jumped out of the way as it crashed into another one.

With the horses momentarily distracted, Nick found an opening, and began to sprint deep into the forest. Soon, the horses were right on his tail, and closing in fast. He could hear them galloping right behind him, and he knew that if he took one miss-step, they would trample him into the ground.

He reached the small lake outside of the town, hidden near the middle of the forest. He stopped in front of it, and turned to see the horses circling him again. He took a quick look around for anything to help him, but other than a tiny body of water and a few tiny pebbles, he was on his own.

Impatiently, one of the horses veered into his direction, and he jumped as high as he could...and didn't fall back down. The horse fell into the water, and didn't come out. The rest seemed confused, almost as much as he was. Nick looked down at his feet, which were now floating a few feet off the ground. He thought the night couldn't get any weirder, but then he started to float. Great.

Soon, the horses gained their footing, and began to march towards him. He desperately thought about flying away, leaving this place. Instantly, he felt himself reach higher into the sky, eventually giving him a view of the entire town.

"Whoa..." He turned and stared right at the moon, seemingly smiling at him. It was almost too bright to stare at, and it felt warm in its glow. Nick smiled, but frowned when he looked down to see the horses coming after him, and yes, they were flying without wings. Pegasus would be jealous.

He imagined himself flying away, and soon, he was off, the horses struggling to take it all in. He knew they were faster than him, though, and they would soon be on top of him. He veered into the nearest clouds, hoping to loose them.

He stopped, and turned in all directions. He could hear them, but the horses weren't anywhere to be found. He took the time to catch his breath, and try to make sense of all that had happened. He thought walking home would be easy, but apparently not so.

He shouldn't have followed that shadow. He knew it was what had called the weird horses made of dark sand, but what he didn't know was why, and how it knew so much about him. Also, when has he ever been able to fly? Suddenly, the cloud he was in dispersed. The horses were running around it, moving it without him noticing, and he was now in the middle of the open.

They all came at once. Nick tried to move, but was hit hard by one of them. Gasping for air after it had hit him so hard in the chest, another one came after, hitting him in the back, followed by the rest. They enclosed him in pure darkness.

Sand whipped everywhere, tearing at his clothes and scratching at his face and hair. If he didn't do anything soon, he would choke, and he certainly didn't want to fall from his current height. What could he do?

A voice in his head spoke up. _Glow. _He cleared his mind. Glow? What was that supposed to mean? Well, it didn't matter, he had nothing else. Doing his best to not breath in the sand, he breathed out, slowing his heart rate.

He imagined the moon, glowing ever so brightly. He imagined the sun, the stars, everything that reminded him of light. Then, he went simple. He remembered walking into his warehouse for the first time, finding only a few things in it.

There was dust everywhere, with an old mat, and a small candle. Every night, he blew out the candle, but there was always a small hole beside his bed in the wall, letting in a small bit of light. It was all he had for a nightlight.

_Nightlight..._ He felt a tug at his heart, and soon, he was filled with a warm sensation. Opening his eyes, he saw that the horses were slowly moving away from him. He uncurled himself, and blinked a few times. He brought his Hands to his face, and, for the third time that night, gasped.

His hands were glowing. As he noticed after, his whole body was glowing, even his hair. The horses didn't seem to like it one bit, and that was fine with him. He grinned, and flew towards one of them. They whined at him, and flew off, the rest running on the air in opposite directions.

"Hah!" He smiled, and felt the temperature cool, until he wasn't glowing anymore. Spinning, he lowered himself a bit. Now he had a story to tell Jamie. The Guardians weren't the only ones with cool powers.


	3. Ch 3: A little Pebble

The air cooled as he reached the ground. It took him a few tries, as he didn't want to ram into the pavement, but he found his footing, and landed quietly near the hidden path to his house. The walls were rotting behind all the trees, but he didn't care at the moment. He had just found out he could fly, and he never needed to buy a nightlight again.

"Nightlight..." The name felt nice to say, even if it wasn't a real name. Who would name their kid Nightlight? He chuckled, and something caught his eye. He looked high into the sky to see sand weaving its way throughout the town, but it wasn't black this time.

This sand was golden, a shining colour. Nick ran back into town, and watched as the sand reached in through the various house windows, and out again, heading to the next one. He had never seen it before, but he didn't feel worry.

A stream came close to him, and he reached out to touch it, but it seemed to be pushed away from him by a invisible force. He tried again to grab it, but it simply moved further away. "Strange." He thought about what it could be, then laughed. "Sandman." He remembered Jamie's stories of the mysterious Guardians of dreams, using whips of golden sand as a weapon, and to bring dreams to all the children of the world.

He smiled softly. He had never had a dream, at least one he could remember. Every night, in his sleep, there was nothing but black. Pitch black. It made sense that he couldn't touch the sand. If he had never had a dream, why could he suddenly have one now?

The sand blissfully swirled around him, almost sadly trying to cling to him, but it could never come close. Nick sighed. "Sorry, Sandman," He turned away. Finally, it felt painful to look at the sand. "Guess you can't save everyone."

In the blink of an eye, something hit him on the side of his head. "Ow!" He slapped his hand against his ear, and heard a quiet whimper. He clung to something soft, and brought his hand to his face. Opening it, he saw he was holding a small hummingbird, with a coin at its side.

"Oops! Sorry." He brushed it softly, and it clicked happily. It had small wings, with green and blue feathers, and big pink eyes. It fluttered its wings, tickling his hand. He laughed, and it whipped around him.

"Wow." It came right in front of his eyes, and slightly cocked its head. "Hey there." He spoke quietly, trying his best not to scare it away. "What's your name?" It chirped at him. "Thought so. Can't speak, huh?" He thought for a moment. "How about..." He glanced around, until he spotted a beautiful pink pebble on the front lawn of the house in front of him.

"Pebble?" It chirped again. "Great. I'm Nick, Nick Late." It nodded its head, and spun around him. "So, Pebble, what are you?" Pebble took the coin from its side, and pointed at its head. Nick took the coin. There wasn't anything special about it. As he handed it back, however, it came to him.

"Coin under your head...pillow! You're a tooth fairy!" Pebble clicked with glee. Nick went back in his memories to when Jamie and Sophie took turns telling him about the Tooth fairy, the Guardians of memories, who could control thousands of herself in miniature form.

"The teeth carry memories." Nick felt his smile leave. Pebble came closer to his face. "Oh, it's nothing, just..." He breathed out. "I've never had a visit from you guys. All my teeth...well, they vanish before I can put them under my pillow. I have all my adult teeth now, and tried to put one under my pillow a few weeks ago, but, before I could, it vanished into thin air."

He tried to think back before his last tooth, but other than that, his amnesia must have eaten up all the memories of his other teeth. He guessed that they had been taken, as well. If the Tooth fairy had taken them, would she have actually kept his memories from him?

Pebble frowned, and looked like she was going to cry. "Oh, no! I don't blame you, never!" He raised his hands in defence. The sand came down around him, but still couldn't touch him. Pebble seemed to find this very strange, as she took some sand in her tiny hands, and threw it at him. However, it simply blew away.

"Sorry, Pebble, that doesn't work on me." He smiled. "Maybe I'm just too old to dream anymore." He looked up to see the sand creating various shapes in the sky. Dolphins jumped over large doves, and fish of all sizes swam in the air under bridges of flowing sand.

Pebble paced in the air back and fourth, then clapped her hands. She flew away, and looked back, signalling Nick to follow her. "Me? Where?" She chirped. Nick shrugged, and began to follow. He ran to catch up.

Pebble flew under the sand, but Nick could simply pass through it. She quickly snuck into one house, and came out holding a small baby's tooth. "Cool." Nick winked at her. "She's a beauty." Pebble blushed, and gave it to him for safe keeping. "Thanks." He grinned.

She flew off again, and Nick had to run to keep up. The last person he had followed had tried to hurt him, or worse, but what trouble could one small fairy do?


	4. Ch 4: Place of the Teeth

Soon, Pebble and Nick made it to the edge of the forest, and Nick stopped. He peered inside, hoping to not catch a glance of the strange shadow he saw before. Pebble eagerly fluttered around, edging towards the forest.

"You want us to go in there?" She nodded excitedly. Nick sighed, and, taking a deep breath, walked in, following Pebble's high pitched chirps. He couldn't be scared of the forest forever. The town disappeared behind them, and he couldn't see the dream sand anymore.

They reached the lake from before, and Pebble pointed to the horizon. The moon was slowly setting behind it. How long had he been out? "What is it? Where do you want me to go?" He squinted. Was she pointing at anything in particular?

She flew off into the sky. "Hold on! You want me to head into the horizon?!" He called her back, but she seemed to be impatient with his many questions. "Sorry, I'm just...why?" She pointed to the pocket he was holding the small tooth in. "...You want to take me to the Tooth fairy, don't you?" Pebble smiled. Nick looked around. Slowly, he felt himself leave the ground. Pebble gasped in awe.

Nick laughed. "Oh, by the way, I can fly. Come on, lead the way." Pebble saluted him, and raced off. "Hey, wait! I'll lose you!" He panicked, and flew to catch up. "Pebble!" She twirled around gracefully, playing with him as they raced off.

After about two long hours of flying at top speeds, Pebble slowed down, and Nick took the chance to catch his breath. "Wow...where are we?" He looked around. Down below, there appeared to be a mountainous structure.

Pebble began to descend, and Nick followed. Soon, they found themselves inside the mountain, and Nick was at a lost for words. "Whoa..." All around him, colourful structures were connected by detailed pathways. Every tall tower floated, showing off vibrant patterns.

"This is where the Tooth fairy lives, huh?" He followed Pebble, trying to take it all in. He had to dodge a group of mini fairies, flying towards what appeared to be a tornado of them. "Amazing." He landed on the middle structure, and looked to the centre. Hundreds of fairies were flying in and out.

In the middle of it all, a large Hummingbird-fairy was ordering the others around, quickly darting back and fourth. Nick pointed at her. "Is that...?" He turned to Pebble, who proudly nodded. They came up to her as she gave orders to the small group they ran into.

"New York, 45 and 16, asap! We've got a chomper twin report in Toronto, and let's chop-chop on that order to New Deli, right? Right!" She spun around so fast, Nick was surprised she noticed them. "Oh, um...hi?" He waved at her.

She fluttered a bit, and grinned. "Oh! A visitor, goodie!" She flew over to him, almost knocking him over. "Haven't had one in months!" She stuck her hand out. "I'm Tooth, also known as the Tooth fairy." Nick gently shook her hand. "Pleasure to meet you, I'm Nick Late."

She clapped her hands. "Alright, fairies, work, work, work!" The storm of fairies chirped in chorus, and continued to bring in thousands of tiny teeth from all over the world, then leave with what seemed like millions of dollars in coins.

"So, Nick," She returned her attention to him, "What brings you to Asia?" Nick almost fell over. "Asia!? I'm in Asia?" She frowned. "Well, yes! Didn't you come her intentionally?" He grinned awkwardly. "Well, yeah, but Pebble was leading the way, and didn't tell me we were travelling so far away."

She tilted her head in confusion. "Pebble?" He pointed to Pebble. "Yeah, well, I thought I'd give her a nickname." Tooth giggled. "Well, I think it's perfect!" She hugged Pebble, who cooed. "Where you from, Nick?" He grinned. "Burgess."

Tooth gasped. "All the way from Burgess?! Goodness, you did travel far!" She turned to Pebble. "So, why did you decide to bring him here, Pebble?" She chirped, and whispered to Tooth in hushed tones. "Really?...Strange, very strange indeed."

She shook her head. "You're a kid with a strange case, Nick." He smiled. "So I hear." She grabbed his hand, and led him over to a large wall. On it, hundreds of smiling faces looked back at him. "This is where we store every child's teeth. They hold memories, you know." He nodded. "Do you...do you think I'm on this wall, Tooth?"

She chuckled. "Of course you are!...How old are you, anyways?" He smirked. "Sixteen." She whistled. "It's great that you believe in us, even at such an age. Very rare." He smiled. "Yeah, well, I've had some help." Pebble nodded quickly.

"Well, let's find your name here, shall we?" She flew up to a certain section of the wall. "N...Nate...Natasha...Nelly...hmm" She looked it over and over again, and slightly lowered. "Are you okay, Tooth?" She perked up. "Oh, of course! 'L'! You must be in the 'L' section!" She flew over to another section.

"L...Layla...Levi...Luke...oops! Too far...Oh, dear..." She slowly fell to the ground, and sank to her knees. Nick ran over to her. "Tooth! What's wrong?" She sniffed, and looked up at him, her eyes watering. "Nick...I...I can't find you anywhere. I don't have you." Nick felt like was just hit by the sand horse again.

"It's...it's okay, Tooth. Really." He helped her to her feet. "You did your best, and I'm happy that you tried to help me." She wiped away her tears. "Oh, Nick, this is terrible. I know you're old, but I have older children than you! Why aren't you here?!"

He looked over the wall. Every face was smiling at him. "It isn't your fault, Tooth. Maybe I don't deserve to have my memories held." Tooth glared at him, and gripped his shoulders. "Don't you dare talk like that, Nick!"

He stepped back a bit, only slightly. She let him go, and sighed. "I'm sorry, it's just...we'll fix this, Nick, honest. All of us." Nick took his turn to be confused. "You mean the fairies? Aren't they busy?" Tooth smirked at him. "No, silly. The Guardians."


	5. Ch 5: Into the books

Nick laughed. "Wait, Jamie's Guardians?" Tooth's eyes widened. "You know Jamie? The Guardian of belief?" Nick smiled. "Jamie's a Guardian? Of belief? And Sophie?" Tooth giggled. "Oh, the Guardian of cute."

Nick agreed, and Tooth rustled her feathers. "Come on, now, we're heading off." Nick followed her, her wings moving at impossible speeds. "Where, exactly?" Tooth pointed off in the distance. "To the North Pole, of Course." Nick was surprised he didn't feel surprised.

"The North Pole? Isn't that where Santa lives?" She nodded. "Yes, and he'll know what to do." She grabbed his hand. "Don't be afraid." Nick pulled away from her. "Don't worry, I'll take care of it." He lifted off the ground.

Tooth gasped in shock at him. He looked down. Again, his sneakers were just a few feet off the ground, and he felt like a feather, light and easily carried by the wind. He hoped he wasn't too light, or he just might actually be blown away.

"What?" Tooth spun around him. "No jet packs, Tooth. It's me." She clicked her tongue. "You are a special case." taking his hand, she flew off, followed by pebble and a few other fairies. "Come on, Baby tooth!" She called out, and another small fairy zoomed up to them.

"Baby tooth? You nicknamed her?" She shook her head. "No, Jack did." Baby tooth smiled. She had a blue eye and a pink eye, a unique mix. "Jack..." Why did that name sound familiar? Pebble clapped her hands in delight, and, taking Baby tooth's in hers, they flew off ahead of the group.

It was two hours before they reached the North pole. Nick shivered at the sudden drop in temperature. "Brr!" Tooth laughed. "Don't worry, we'll be toasty warm once we're inside." They reached the roof of a large establishment on the side of a ginormous mountain of snow and ice.

"It's gorgeous." Nick gazed around at it. He followed Tooth to a large window on the side of the building, leading into a large room with a huge globe, filled with glowing dots. He gawked at it."What is that?"

Tooth smiled warmly. "It's the globe we use to watch over all the children who believe in us, naughty or nice. Each light is a child." She floated down through it, and Pebble, Baby tooth and Nick followed her inside. Warmth immediately hugged them.

Nick landed on the ground. It sure was tiring flying around the Earth in so little time. How did Tooth do it? He spotted her next to a big fireplace, under a large painted picture of a fierce warrior with two swords, taking a noble battle pose.

It was who she was talking to that surprised him the most. A tall and buff man in blue jeans, black boots, and a red designed shirt with rolled up sleeves. Nick shivered when he saw that the man with the long white beard had "Naughty" and "Nice" tattooed on each arm.

Tooth looked over, and signalled him to come to her. He carefully walked over, Pebble and Baby tooth following him. "Nick, I'd like you to meet...Nick." She giggled. The tall man grinned. "Hello there, Nick. I am Santa, but you may call me North."

He had a thick Russian accent, and Nick felt right at home. "Thanks. It's an honour to meet you, Santa...er, North." He laughed, his voice deep. "Don't be shy, my friend. You are always welcome here." He indicated the picture. "You see me here? Strong, intimidating, but only to enemies of the children." He pointed to the globe. "I am Guardian, and fight only for them." He poked Nick's chest. "That includes you."

Nick felt relief. He knew now, more than ever, that there were people who cared for him, even if they were halfway across the world. Suddenly, he reached for his pocket, and took out the small tooth Pebble had collected.

"Here, Tooth. Sorry, forgot I had it." Tooth gently took it, and North grinned. "There, you see? You are compassionate, and we like that." Tooth agreed. She looked over at North. "North, there's a problem." North mumbled, becoming serious.

"Yes. You say you don't have Nick listed in teeth collection?" She nodded grimly. North, however, didn't seem to be the one to give up so easily. "Well, then, let's find him on list." He winked at Nick. "I check Nice list, first."

Nick felt a sudden chill come over him as he suddenly remembered something. "Um, North? I...I didn't have a Christmas last year. You didn't come. Must have missed me." North gasped. "Nonsense! I give every child gifts on Christmas! You must have lost it, no?"

Nick nodded. It made sense. It had to. "Come, we check list now!" He walked away, and came back a moment later with a large, yellow book, placing it down on a nearby table, he opened it up, and flipped to the 'N' section.

"Hmm...Nick Adams...Nicki Carter...Nickolas Lake...oh, no..." He slammed the book shut, sending dust into Nick's face, which sent him into a coughing fit, along with the mini fairies. North walked away, and came back with a different book, this one dark blue.

"The naughty list...hmm..." He flipped it to the 'N' section again. After a few moments of silence, North sighed, and sadly closed the book. Nick guessed the worst. "I'm not in it, am I?" North gloomily looked up at him. "...You...are not in books."


	6. Ch 6: The Guardians return

"This is not right!" North paced rapidly back and fourth on the lush red carpet of his factory. Nick looked behind him to see a few small creatures with bells on their heads trying not to be stepped on by massive wild animals that were eerily watching them.

Pebble came over and whispered into Nick's ear. "...Oh, Yetis and Elves." Made sense.

"This is not possible! How are you not on list?" North looked steamed. Tooth fluttered around anxiously, waiting for someone to bring up an idea.

"Look, it doesn't matter. Really." Nick shrugged. "I don't want to be a burden to you and the other Guardians." North stopped, and clapped his hands. "Ah-ha! That is it!" He raced over to a large deck in front of the globe, filled with different buttons, switches and nobs.

He stepped in front of a big, silver handle, and pulled it out. Immediately, the globe hummed to life, and from the top of it, the Northern lights appeared, and flew into the sky. "Wow." Nick was impressed. So that's the true reason behind Northern lights. North grinned, and turned around, dusting off his hands on his clothing.

"Now, we wait." Tooth spun around. "Yes, this is perfect! We'll all work together!" Nick stared at her, puzzled. "Um, so...someone else is coming?" Suddenly, he heard a rumble on the ground, and a giant hole appeared before them...in the floor. From out of it, a big rabbit popped out, and the hole disappeared in an instant.

"How's it going, mate?" The rabbit spoke in a thick Australian accent. He had long ears, and stood on his hind legs. He fur was the strangest colour of blue. Strapped around his chest was a belt, carrying a boomerang on his back, and a few eggs.

"You're...the Easter bunny." Nick gawked at his height. "That's right, mate, but you can call me Bunnymund." He then turned to North. "So, why call on the Guardians now?" Before North could answer, however, another person came fourth. A small man floated out from the hallway, wearing what looked like a suit of...golden sand. He waved at the group.

"Sandman." Nick bent down, and shook his hand. "Honour to meet you." The Sandman grinned, but his eyes widened when some sand fell off of him, and bounced off of Nick's jacket. "Oh, yeah, about that..." He laughed awkwardly, but was outdone but another sound of laughter.

A cold wind flushed through the hall, and Nick hugged himself for warmth. The cold soon left, but there was still a slight chill in the air. Pebble and Baby tooth shivered, and hugged each other, shaking. Tooth hugged them.

"Sandy, did he come with you?" She asked quickly. Sandy shook his head. "Did who come?" He looked up, only to be hit in the face with a snowball. He stumbled back, and bumped into North. He wiped the snow away, but felt a sudden burst of joy. "Weird."

Bunnymund groaned, and looked up. "Alright, ya wee show pony, get down 'ere." Slowly, another person joined them. He was wearing a blue hoodie, dark brown skinny pants, and no shoes. His hair was glowing white, and he held onto a tall staff, the end taking the shape of a 'G'. Baby tooth sighed dreamily, and flew over to him, landing on his shoulder.

"Jack, that wasn't nice." Tooth wagged a finger at him, and he chuckled. "Ah, he didn't care, did you?" Nick shook his head, and smiled. Jack didn't look too much older than himself, a couple years at the most.

"You're Jack Frost, aren't you?" Jack nodded. "Yup. So, which holiday, season, or special gift do you watch over?" He stepped over to him, and Nick held his hands up defensively. "Um, I'm not a Guardian of anything." Jack grinned. "Well, no, only we're Guardians, but are you the watcher of...Halloween?" Tooth tried to chime in, but Jack stopped her.

"No, wait, you're the watcher of...Valentines!...No, that's Cupid, and she's a girl. You replacing the Groundhog?" Bunnymund coughed. "If only." North laughed. "No, Jack, Nick is not watcher over anything." Pebble nodded, and flew over to him, sitting quietly on his head.

He placed his hand on Nick's shoulder. "He is from Burgess, Tooth tells me, and is friend of Jamie. He is why I called you all here." Sandy cocked his head, and a small question mark made of sand appeared over his head.

"We have emergency now." Bunnymund turned solemn. "What kind of emergency?" Tooth cut in. "Nick isn't on the Naughty list." Jack smiled. "Uh, Tooth...that's a good thing." She turned to him. "...Or the Nice list."

Everyone fell silent. Jack stopped twirling his staff around, and set it firmly on the ground. "There's more," Tooth ended the silence. "I don't have his tooth container...he isn't even on my tooth wall." Sandy seemed to gasp, but Nick couldn't hear anything.

"Hmm, this is bad, mate." He looked Nick over. "Anything else?" Nick nodded. "Well, I can fly." He showed off by floating above their heads. Pebble cheered him on as he landed. Jack clapped his hands in approval. "There's only one answer." Everyone turned to him. "Nick...is a foreign immigrant, who snuck into America." Bunnymund moaned. "Nah, mate, that ain't right, he'd still be listed." North shook his head. "This make no sense. You are child, you believe in us, you are nice, very! Where are you?" Sandy scratched his head. Then, he created a light bulb of sand over his head. "What is is, Sandy?" North soundly mildly excited. "You have idea?"

Sandy nodded, and pointed up. Outside, it was morning, but the moon could still be seen. It was glowing, and Nick noticed that they were being bathed in its light. "Yes! That is perfect, he will know!" North grinned, but Nick felt left out. "Who will know? Another Guardian?" He was, yet again, confused. Weren't all the Guardians there?

Jack snickered. "No, we're talking about the big fella, the big watcher. We're talking about...the Man on the Moon. Also known as Manny."


	7. Ch 7: A chilling tour

"Manny?" Nick looked up at the moon. Was it smiling at him? "Yes, that is brilliant!" Tooth yelped for joy. Baby tooth chirped cheerfully on Jack's shoulder. The moon seemed to glow even brighter than before.

"Good, good!" North backed everyone away from the centre of the floor. A large, metal 'G' was marked in the middle, surrounded by a rim of silver. Bunnymund looked up at the moon. "Alright, Manny, do you know anything 'bout this?"

Nick had to keep himself from laughing. They were talking to the moon, for crying out loud! What do they mean, Manny? Was there truly someone on the moon?...Well, he was talking to the Tooth fairy, the Easter bunny, Jack Frost, the Sandman and Santa Claus.

The moon aimed its glow on the 'G', and it began to glow. Suddenly, Nick watched as it sunk into the ground. A moment later, a large, clear crystal appeared from it, sitting on a large metal pedestal. It rose up until it was just higher then Bunnymund.

"What's this?" He asked Tooth. "This is how Manny chooses a new Guardian." She sounded surprised. Everyone else seemed to not know what was going on, either. "Well, this is...new." North clapped his hands together. "But, if this is what Manny needs us to do, then we will take in a new Guardian!" Sandy clapped his hands.

"Wonder who it'll be?" Jack looked closely at it. "They must know something about Nick!" Tooth gleamed in the light of the crystal. Soon, a hazy blue glow was emitted from the top of the crystal. "Shh! It's happening!" Tooth hushed everyone, and Pebble covered her mouth.

After a moment of the haze shifting, it finally took the form of someone, and Nick gasped. "No way?" Jack gawked. "Him?!" North, Bunnymund and Tooth were all wide eyed. Sandy had to pick his jaw up. The moon's glow disappeared.

"The new Guardian is...You." Jack pointed at Nick. "You're the new Guardian, Nick." He looked from the form, to Jack, then back again. "How? I'm not a watcher like you guys!" North shook his head. "This is very strange. You aren't watcher, yet you are Guardian."

Nick thought for a moment. "Well, Jamie and Sophie are Guardians, right?" Bunnymund shook his head. "Nah, mate, we just gave'm the titles, little things. They ain't true Guardians like us...or you, for that matter."

Nick felt like he was on a roller coaster going too fast. Why was this happening? He can't be a Guardian, he's just a kid...right? His glowing form kept shape above the crystal, shimmering in all its glory.

"Well, this is certainly a turn for the weird." Jack came over and slapped him on the back. "Aw, don't worry, kid, you'll do just great." He shook his head. "No, guys, I...I can't be a Guardian." Jack smiled. "That's what I said."

Nick frowned at him. "What happened?" Jack winked. "It was so crazy, it'd make the perfect movie...kidding, it was fine. I mean, other than Pitch and all that. Oh, and me having no memories of my past from three hundred years ago."

Nick gasped. "You had amnesia, too?" He quickly covered his mouth. Stupid, stupid! That was supposed to be a secret! Everyone stared at him. "Wait...Nick, you had amnesia?" He looked around at each of them. He dropped his hands, and sighed deeply.

"I still do. I can't remember anything beyond ten months ago, when I woke up in that old cave wearing the weirdest clothing." Jack smirked. "Maybe you were a clown, and got lost on your way to a show?" North frowned. "Good guess, Jack, but that seems highly impossible."

He gestured around the factory. "Now, Nick, new Guardian, before we figure you out, let me give you a tour of my Toy factory!" Jack chimed in. "Can I?" Bunnymund snickered. "You? You'd get both of ya lost in thirty seconds, mate."

Jack stuck his tongue out at him, and dragged Nick away by the arm, the tooth fairies staying behind with Tooth. "Be back in twenty!" They walked away, leaving the Guardians to discuss the recent happenings.

Soon, they made their way to a large elevator. Riding it up, they reached a set floor, and got off to see dozens of Yetis building different types of dolls, planes and robots. One yeti in particular grinned at them and waved. "Nice job, Phil!" Jack waved back to him, and Nick simply smiled.

They walked past flying machines, moving cranes, and small elves eating various plastic parts on the floor. "Um, so, what do the elves do?" Jack shrugged. "Beats me. Probably just decorations...that move and eat."

They made it to a small room, and entered. "This is where Santa makes models for his toys out of ice." Nick looked around to see different book shelves, tools with strange shapes, and shards of ice on a large table near the window that looked out beyond the horizon, which was now a bright blue.

"Hope you're ready, Nick." Jack turned to him, a stern look on his face. Nick stepped back a bit. "Uh, Jack, you okay?" Jack pointed his staff at the door, and it slammed shut. Nick backed up into it, Jack's staff against his chest. "Get ready, Nick, this might hurt. A lot."

Nick tried to open the door behind his back, but it wouldn't unlock. What ever Jack had did, it was working pretty well. Jack moved closer, his hood flipping up over his face, so only his mouth was visible.

"Nick...whatever your last name is," He fumbled with his words, which would have been funny to Nick if not for the staff at his neck now. "Jack, what's going on? What are you...?" The staff began to glow a bright blue.

"Jack, I don't know what's gotten into you, but this is way too weird from what Jamie said about you!" Jack smirked, and raised his staff, ready to bring it down on Nick's head. "Sorry, this is for your own good."


	8. Ch 8: Thinking inside the box

Nick didn't know what to do. Should he try to blind Jack, or simply kick him? Either way, it probably wouldn't do him any good. Who knew how strong Jack was? As he quickly raced through how to react, Jack swung his staff down.

However, he held it slightly above Nick's head. Nick looked up at Jack, only to see him trying to hold back a laugh. He growled. "Hey, what's going on?" Jack began to laugh, holding his sides as his staff stood by itself.

"I...I'm sorry, I just...I had to, you were so...ha ha ha!" He took his hood off, and Nick saw that his face had gone slightly red. He smacked him. "Ow! Oh, come on, now I wasn't going to actually hurt you." Nick shook his head. "How was I supposed to know? Jamie told me you were respectable, albeit, he also said you could be a loose cannon..." Oh, duh. This was Jack Frost.

Jack wiped away tears from his eyes, and stood up strait. "Yeah, well, whatever. You should have seen how North tried to interrogate me in this room, when I was chosen." He shivered. "I thought he was going to pummel me! Turns out, he only wanted to ask me one question...'What is you centre, Jack Frost?'"

Nick was confused. Centre? What was the centre of someone supposed to be? "He wanted to know more about your heart?" Jack chuckled. "No, he wanted me to understand what I was supposed to be Guarding. My centre is fun. Snow days, snowmen, snowballs."

"There are some disadvantages." Jack looked down slightly. Nick thought he was going to fall asleep, but he shot up. "If children stop believing in a Guardian, if not one child on Earth believes in them, then they disappear...forever." Nick felt a knot in his stomach. Forever? Being a Guardian was more dangerous than he thought. Would he be able to keep kids believing in him? Jack seemed to have the same fear as he did right now...no one believing in them. However, Jack had Jamie, Sophie, and a tons of fans, so he was covered.

He looked around, and walked over to the shelves. He came back with a few Russian dolls in his hands. "Look at these." He led Nick over to the work table, and set the dolls down. "North made them. Each one depicts a Guardian."

The dolls were brightly coloured. Bunnymund was frowning on his, Sandy was smirking, North was smiling almost boastfully, Tooth was smiling gently, and Jack looked like he was about to pelt you with a hundred snowballs. Each of them were unique, defined. North had to have spent a lot of time on them. "What about the others? Like the Boogeyman?" Jack almost choked.

"The Boogeyman? Pitch? No way, not in a million years would that guy care for someone! He's evil." Nick felt a pang of anger. "How do you know?" He snapped, but gasped. "Whoa. Sorry, there, must be more tired than I realized." Why had he said that? For just a moment, he felt...protective. Was Pitch truly a bad guy?...Well, he had to be if the Guardians said so!

He picked up the Santa Claus doll. "See, this is North." He took out each doll, and set them on the table. He then picked out the final doll, and tiny one with large, blue eyes. "This is North's centre...Wonder."

He set North down, and picked up Tooth. "Tooth is the Guardian of memories." Nick nodded. "Sandman is the Guardian of dreams, and the Easter Bunny is the Guardian of...?" Jack snickered. "Over grumpy kangaroos." They both laughed. "Nah, he's the Guardian of Hope."

Jack looked Nick over. "So, what's your centre?" Nick sighed. "I don't know. I don't protect dreams, or collect memories. I'm not full of wonder, or hope, and you're ten times more fun than me." He looked outside through the window. Could he truly be a Guardian? It didn't seem at all likely. He was just a normal kid...who could fly, glow and had no recollection of his life.

Jack grinned. "Well, good. You should be a Guardian based on who you are, not who the rest of us are." He spun his staff around in his hands, creating snow. "I'm the only Guardian of fun. If I wasn't, I wouldn't be here today, now, would I?"

Tooth flew in. "You guys, North found something!" She grabbed their hands, and dragged them out of the room, where they flew down to the globe to meet up with the others. They were surrounding a small table, with a large metal box on it.

The box was strange. It had different markings decorated all over it, and looked like it had been buried for ages. Nick began to wonder if Bunnymund had to have dig it up from under the dirt and snow outside.

"What's that?" Jack poked it, and it slightly echoed. North pulled him away. "It is hidden secret. Manny pointed it out while you were gone." Bunnymund and Sandy nodded in unison. Tooth flew around it, Baby tooth and Pebble following her.

"Manny." Nick felt strange saying his name, like it was a distant memory. Yeah, right, how would he know the Man on the moon? He was probably hundreds of years old, and Nick was sixteen, not sixteen thousand.

"How do we open it?" There were no key holes, and it looked pretty strong. "Only the moon's light will open box." North dragged it over onto the metal 'G' on the ground, since the crystal had disappeared back into the ground.

The moon glowed brightly now, shining right onto the box. It began to vanish, and soon, the box was completely gone. Lying on the ground, an old sketchbook was covered in dust. North picked it up carefully, and blew away the dust.

It had a yellow colour, with a red spine, and old white pages. "What's the book about?" Nick was beginning to become curious. Why would the book be inside a protective box, anyways? Did it hold secrets about the Guardians?


	9. Ch 9: Memories

North held the book close to him. "This is a very important book. It holds..memories." Nick looked to Tooth. "So, is it yours?" Tooth smiled warmly. "No, Nick. It hold memories, drawings and stories from over a hundred years ago."

North opened the book, and held it out for everyone to see. On the pages, there were drawings of yetis, large Geese and eggs with legs. Each was done with such care, Nick thought perhaps it was from someone famous.

There were also stories written everywhere. Stories of talking socks, dancing stars, beautiful tree nymphs and lovely mountain gossip. Some were in the form of poems, but others were full out short stories, some of which caught his eye. Each one had a simply picture beside it, to illustrate their meaning.

"Who does the book belong to?" Bunnymund grinned. "It belonged to an old friend of the Guardians, back when we were just starting as a group." Jack tilted his head. "Um, Manny drew them?" Sandy shook his head. "No, mate," Bunnymund stared at the drawings. "The book belonged to a young girl...named Katherine Bennett."

Jack nearly dropped his staff. Pebble and Baby tooth sighed. Nick blinked a few times. Bennett? "You mean...Jamie's ancestor? She knew you guys?" North bellowed with laughter, but it sounded almost...sad.

"Now that you mention it, yes, I thought Jamie had a strange...familiarity to him." North walked over to the picture of him above the fireplace, fighting off evil with his two swords. "Long ago, I was not good person you see today."

Jack glanced at the picture, then North. "You were...naughty?" North grinned. "The naughtiest. I was Burglar, and stole many things. I was very good at being bad! But one day, I was called by Man in moon, and found my calling as Guardian."

"You...a thief?" Jack had to stop himself from laughing. North huffed. "Yes, Jack, I was a thief back then. I stole many a thing from vast regions, and each and every time, I was victorious!...But, that is no longer me, since I am now Guardian."

He pointed to a specific spot on the globe, Burgess. "Before there was Burgess, there was Santoff Clausen." Jack chimed in. "Santa Claus, right?" North smiled. "Yes. A magical place, filled with creativity and...well, magic. The children, they were so kind, but especially Katherine."

North looked like he was going back through his memories, reliving the good days. "We had much fun together, training, building, learning magic. She was ever so fond of reading me her stories, filled with daring heroes, some even based off me."

Bunnymund nodded. "Hey, she was our friend, too, mate. She always loved to help with me chocolate recipes, coming up with new ones everyday." Tooth sighed. "I remember how she tried to catch me taking her teeth. She was very smart, and brave, as well." Sandy nodded.

Nick turned to Jack. "Did you know Katherine?" Jack shook his head. "Nope, doesn't ring a bell, unless I forgot about her for some reason." Nick looked back to the drawings in the book, and while North was busy reminiscing, he took it from his hands, and flipped through the pages.

Pictures of Geese, children, glorious battles, friendly creatures, and many other magical things were all randomly spilled out on the pages. Soon, Nick came to a picture of who he guessed was North as a young man, bold and proud, holding out his swords in triumph.

Jack peered over his shoulder as he came to a picture of Bunnymund, and Jack laughed. "That was you, Bunnymund?" Bunnymund turned to them. "Alright, alright, so I changed a wee bit from back then. I'm still as intelligent and tough as I was back in the day."

Nick then found a picture of the Tooth fairy, elegantly flying over the moon, followed by her mini fairies. "Wow, you looked different back then, Tooth." She shrugged. "Over time, I began to take more hummingbird than human."

Bunnymund snickered. "Still the queen, though." She blushed, but Jack simply awed. "You're a Queen?" This was new to Jack, so it seemed. "Well," She fumbled, "...Yes. I'm actually just...well, Queen Toothiana of the Fairy armies, Nothing much." She looked away, up at the ceiling, and Pebble giggled.

Sandman was basically the same, except the picture had him laughing on the ground beside a young girl with long brown hair. "Is that Katherine?" Everyone looked onto the picture, and smiled. Nick felt like he was missing something about this girl. Sure, Jamie looked just like her, but there was something else about her, something he couldn't quite place his finger on.

"There was another, however." Tooth turned the page, until they landed on a picture of a small, plump man, siting on the moon and smiling. "That is Manny, chooser of Guardians." North pointed to the moon. "He stays up there, watching over us, and the children."

"He looks a bit different than I thought he would," Jack mumbled, but Nick elbowed him. However, the next picture was what caught his eyes. On it, a young boy with glowing white hair and a strange clothing design was standing on one leg, leaning against his own wooden staff, with a crystal of light on the end. "That was Katherine's best friend...Nightlight." North grinned.

Nick gawked at the character. He was smiling at something, but Nick couldn't guess what. The person was so familiar, friendly. "He...I..." Nick began to fit the pieces together, but he didn't know if he liked the way the puzzle was looking. "Guys, we have a problem...I think." He looked up at them, and turned the book to face them. "This guy? Nightlight? I think...that's me."

They gasped. "No...that can't be..." Nick felt a rush of realization. "Where did Nightlight go?" North looked away. "He disappeared. Never told us where he was going." Nick almost fell over, and Jack had to hold him up by his arm. "Hey, Nick, you okay there?"

"No. No I'm not." He dropped the book, which Tooth picked up. "Guys, I'm Nightlight."


	10. Ch 10: Unwelcomed storm

Everyone stared at him like he had told them he was Pitch's son...geez, he sure hoped that wasn't true. North was dumbfounded. "You...as our Nightlight?" Nick slowly nodded. Pebble and Baby Tooth spun around his head, buzzing with curiosity.

"But, Nick," Tooth flew over to him and placed her hand on his now shaking shoulder. "How can this be?" He shook his head. Did he even believe himself? "I don't know, I...I just have this strong feeling. Also, I keep hearing that name."

He looked up at the moon. "...Nightlight. I woke up in strange clothes with no memory of who or where I was. I chose the name 'Nick Late'. Nick Late...Nightlight...Makes sense," He turned to the others, "Right?"

He opened the book to a picture of Katherine, her smile as big as ever. "Her. I feel like I know her. Jaime was the first friend I made in Burgess, because I felt drawn to him." Tooth gasped. "And Jamie is the direct ancestor of Katherine."

Nick nodded. "I can fly, Pitch knows I have no memory, I glow like the sun when I'm scared, I-" "Hold on, mate." Bunnymund cut him off. "Did you just say...what I think you said?...Pitch? You talked to Pitch Black?"

Nick bit his tongue. "Um...maybe?" Sandy wagged his finger. "Sandman is right." North walked over and pointed up to the moon. "Manny has gathered us to stop Pitch at all costs. We must protect the children."

Nick sighed. "I know. I didn't go after him...without being provoked. He attacked me, and that's where I found out I had my powers. When I began to glow with pure light, the nightmares ran away. Turns out they didn't like to see me as a light bulb."

North shook his head. "This makes little sense...yet so much at same time." He walked up to Nick, and grinned. "It IS you, Nightlight!" He caught Nick in a bear-hug. "We will get your memories back, Nightlight. Mark my words."

Nick felt like he was going to burst. "North...you're...you're choking me..." Tooth patted North on the shoulder. "Oh! Sorry, Nick." He gently placed him down. "Thanks, North." He looked up at the moon. "Do you think he knows how this happened?"

Bunnymund sighed. "Can't be too sure 'bout that, mate. Besides, this is our problem now, not his." Jack grinned. "We'll handle this. And forget about Pitch. He won't be bugging you anytime soon, now that you're a Guardian. Well, will be...are...was Nightlight a Guardian?"

"**Really, Jack? Still so much you have yet to learn."** A low hissing voice came from out of no where. Sandy's eyes widened. "Pitch!" Tooth grabbed her little fairies, and held them close. Jack readied his staff, and Bunnymund and North brought out their swords and boomerang.

"**Don't I mean anything to you? I was once a guard, too, you know."** Pitch growled into their ears, but still he didn't show himself. **"Now, how shall I play with you? I do have a list of children to deliver nightmares to."** Jack snorted. "You? Never would have guessed you were so social."

"Come out here, coward!" North bellowed. The yetis and elves hid behind curtains, under tables, and behind their friends. Just how horrible could Pitch really be when he wanted to? Sure, he was the Boogeyman, but was he really all that bad? His horses weren't too friendly, but he just seemed to hide in the shadows.

"**Now, now, North."** Pitch's voice filled the cold air. **"Why so harsh? I just wanted to greet my old friend...Nightlight."** Jack stood in front of Nick. "I think you greeted him, already, no?" Nick nodded. "Yeah, we've met."

"**Well, I don't think I fully got to talk to you, did I?"** Dark clouds began to appear in the sky. Nick stepped back, and the Guardians formed a protective circle around him. "You'd better leave now, Pitch!" Tooth called out, and Pebble and Baby tooth chirped in agreement.

"**Of course...but not alone."** Suddenly, the clouds in the sky began to shift. "Those aren't clouds..." Bunnymund yelped. "Black sand! Look out!" He pointed to the sky as the sand came pouring into the factory, encircling them all.

"Do not be separated!" North called out, but Nick couldn't see him, or anyone, for that matter. Sand filled the entire room. "Pebble!" Tooth called out, and Nick felt something holding onto his hair. He reached up and held tightly onto Pebble.

"It's okay, I've got you." He tried to stay calm, but it was hard while standing in a tornado of sand. He could just make out Sandy spraying his own sand everywhere, but it was eaten up by pitch's. Jack tried to shoot out ice, but nothing was working.

Nick felt himself start to glow. "No way! Nick, is that you?!" North sounded surprised. "Yeah! Told you I glow!" "Don't be scared, mate! We've got you!" Bunnymund tried to speak clearly, but Nick was having a hard time hearing his voice.

"Whoa!" He heard Jack cry out. "Jack!" He reached his arm out, and just caught Jack's hoodie arm. However, the black sand pushed him over, and both he, Pebble and Jack went flying into the air. "Hold on, Pebble!" Nick tried his best to hold onto Jack, but eventually, his hand slipped.

"No! Jack!" The sand began to clear, and he saw Jack fall into Bunnymund's arms. "Nick!" Tooth flew up to him, but was pushed back by a wave of Nightmares. **"Not so fast, my dear."** Pitch's voice rang out towards the Guardians.

"**You'll get your precious light back...if he ever wants to come back."** He laughed manically, and Nick was again surrounded by sand. "No!. I'll...I'll..." He felt his eyelids closing as he ceased glowing, and Pebble hid in his pocket. **"Sleep, my boy...sleep."**


	11. Ch 11: Nature will know the way!

Jack slowly opened his eyes. Was the sand still there?...No, the air was clear. He sat up, and looked around. The place was a mess, with yetis and elves racing around and bumping into each other, trying their best to clean up after Pitch.

Dolls, stuffies and action figures were tossed around, while firetrucks and wooden boats hung from everything. Paint sets and putty splattered the curtains, and the globe was coloured by crayons, markers and glitter.

"Oh, no..." He stood up, and turned to the others. They were over beside the messed up fireplace. Santa's picture had been ripped in half, and one half, the half with North on it, laid in the small fire, burning until there was nothing left of it.

North was brooding, while Tooth held Baby tooth close, who was crying. Bunnymund was cleaning out sand from his fur, and Sandy was doing his best to turn all of the leftover nightmare sand into dream sand.

He walked over beside him. "I'm sorry, Sandman." Sandy looked up at him, his eyes wet. Jack couldn't help but look away. "We'll...we'll fix this." He silently walked over to Bunnymund, who stood up, tall and stern.

Jack looked down. "This was my fault." Bunnymund looked down at him. "Nah, mate, this wasn't nobody's fault...'cept Pitch." Jack looked up at him, tired. "I've beat him before. Why couldn't I do it?" Bunnymund smiled warmly. "You were caught off guard. We'll get'im next time."

"That is right." North looked up at them, his swords in his hands. They all turned to him as Sandy joined the group. "We will have a next time. And that time will be very soon for our greatest foe, Pitch Black!"

He paced around, spinning his swords by their handles. "He brought the fight to us, no?" Tooth's wings vibrated a beautiful rainbow colour at the fastest rate Jack had ever seen. "Yes! So we'll bring the fight to him!" Baby tooth chirped with delight.

Bunnymund frowned. "Where do you think they went?" Sandy pointed above his head. In the sand, a small cage appeared. "Exactly, Sandy!" North pointed to the cage. "He has taken Nightlight and Pebble to his realm in the dark, under the Earth!"

Tooth fluttered around. "How do we reach them?" Jack felt worry. "She's right. The bed and tunnel to his realm has disappeared. We have no way to reach him." Sandy sighed. "Do not give up hope, Sandy," North threw his arms up in the air. "There is always a way, as long as we believe!"

"I know!" Tooth raised her hand up in the air. Bunnymund lowered it, and she blushed. "Yes, Tooth?" She grinned. "We do have one other helper. Someone who knows the Earth well. Someone...who knows Pitch far better than any of us ever could."

Jack tilted his head. "Who?" North smirked. "Yes. She would help. This is good." Sandy smiled, and nodded his head. "Ai, mate, she'll be perfect," Bunnymund tossed his boomerang up in the air, and caught it by its end.

"WHO?!" Jack felt out of the loop. "Why, Mother Nature, of course." Tooth lowered herself to his height. "She controls the Earth's weather, sending out her helpers, such as the grass nymphs, or the winds."

Jack frowned. "So...I don't control the wind?" Bunnymund shook his head. "Sorry, Frost, but you've been riding off the winds controlled by others." Jack looked down. Wow, that wasn't embarrassing at all.

"We must contact her. She must help our cause!" North ran about, ordering yetis to move out of the way. "To the sled!" Bunnymund moaned. "Oh, no, not again, mate!" Jack chucked to himself. "Still not over it?"

Bunnymund glared at him. "No, buddy, I'm not." He grumbled as he followed North away, followed by Sandy and Tooth. Baby tooth hid in Jack's hood. He smiled. "Well, can't wait to meet this "Mother Nature" person in real life."

* * *

Jamie sighed loudly. He looked outside his tall window. It was just entering the evening, and he was sitting on his bed, which was now surrounded by various drawings made by him and Sophie of the Guardians.

"Where are you?" The door clicked open behind him, and he turned around on his bed. Sophie walked in, and, closing the door behind her, climbed up onto his blankets. She was wearing her new red pyjamas, and her long brown hair fell over her face.

"Hi, Jamie," She grinned. He looked down at his own pyjamas. He was wearing his blue top and green pants. His brown hair was messy, but he didn't care, he was too tired to brush it. He looked over at her. "Hey, Sophie."

It had been two years since they had fought Pitch alongside the Guardians. Sophie had just turned four, so she was easier to understand, and thankfully, she still remembered the Guardians, despite being so young.

"Why so glum, Jamie?" She held his hand, and he smirked. "I...I wanted Nick to babysit us today." Sophie's smile faded. "Me, too, Jamie. We have Sara, though." Jamie pulled his hand away, and let it rest on his pillow.

"Yeah, but...she doesn't understand us like Nick does." Sophie tilted her head, her hair falling over her shoulder. "How did you meet Nick, anyways?" Jamie looked over at her. "...It was about nine months ago, I think." He snickered. "I remember it like it was yesterday, though." She giggled, and nearly fell off the bed. Still as hyper as ever.

She sat back up, and crossed her legs. "Tell me! Tell me!" She loved to hear Jamie's stories, whether they were real or made up. Whenever he was writing short tales of the Guardian's heroics, she would always read over his shoulder, just to catch an early glimpse of his tales.

He grinned. "You really want to hear? It isn't that adventurous...well..." He turned to look out the window. Truth be told, it was a miniature adventure. He liked Nick, and they could connect so well, it was almost scary.

"YES! YES!" Sophie squealed into Jamie's ear. "Alright, already! I'll tell you!" He laughed aloud. "Quiet down, guys!" Sara's voice came from the hallway behind the door. "Sorry," They yelled in unison.

"Go on, Jamie, tell me!" Sophie couldn't sit still. Jamie grinned. "Okay. So, it all started with one black cat, a scary owl, and the creepiest, craziest, biggest, high-flying butterfly of all colours you could ever hear about!..."


	12. Ch 12: Who, who, you

_The sun was out, and the air was cool as Jamie and Pippa walked through the forest. They were collecting sticks for a school science project. "Wow, look at this one!" She picked up a meter long branch, and smiled._

_She was wearing a dark blue jacket over a brown skirt and black leggings, with her white sneakers. Jamie had his black jacket on over his blue jeans and blue shoes. He grinned. "Perfect!" He looked around for any other large branches, but spotted something else._

"_Jamie, I have to go home now." Pippa turned to him. "It's noon." He didn't pay any attention to her, though. He was too busy admiring the strangest butterfly he had ever seen. "Jamie?" "Shh! Look." He pointed to it._

_It was the size of a tennis ball, with crystal wings, coloured in every shade of blue, red, green, orange and every other colour you could think of. Its antennas were a bright pink, and its body a deep green. It sat quietly on a small leaf._

"_What type of butterfly do you think it is?" He turned to face Pippa, who merely shrugged. "I don't know, it could be a new discovery. Anyways, I have to go, okay?" She ran out of the forest. "See you at school tomorrow, Jamie!"_

_He waved goodbye to her, and turned around, only to see that the butterfly had left. "Hey, wait!" He ran further into the forest, dropping the sticks he was holding. As he ran farther into the trees, the sun began to hide behind their leaves, and Jamie could hear various animals moving around._

_Finally, he reached a small cave, hidden by tall evergreens. "Cool." He looked around. It was very dark inside of it. The rock was cracking around the entrance, and small plants grew out of it. "Never been here before..."_

_He gasped as he heard a low growl. Spinning on his heels, he turned to see a black cat walk out of the bushes. It hissed at him, and the fur on the back of its body stood on end. Jamie snickered. "Nice kitty. I won't hurt you."_

_However, the cat lunged at him, and grabbed onto his arm. "Ow!" Jamie shook it off, and threw the nearest rock at it, scaring it away. "What was that for?" He thought it looked familiar, but he ignored the idea._

_Soon, another creature came into sight. A large owl was sitting on the tree, its white and brown feathers ruffled. It had big yellow eyes, and they stared intently down at Jamie. He gawked at its size. It was as tall as he was!_

"_Hey, there, Mr. Owl." He smiled, and it cooed. "Who, who!" It screeched at him, and he chuckled. "Yeah, I know the sound that an owl makes." It landed down on the ground in front of him, where it looked even bigger._

"_Who, who. Nightlight, that's who. Katherine, was who. Magic, with who. Who are who, and who are you, who?" Jamie awed at its speech. "Wow! A giant owl that can talk?!" But, wait. What did it mean? Katherine? A nightlight, and magic?_

_Suddenly, it spread out its wings, and flew off into the sky. "That wasn't strange." He smirked. "AHH!" A loud echo came from the entrance of the cave. Jamie turned around to hear the voice of someone inside of it. _

"_Hello?" He called out, but didn't hear any response. "...Maybe I should call for help." He turned around, but then it occurred to him. He'd done far worse than explore a dark cave. He had helped the Guardians defeat Pitch!_

_Why was he so afraid? Maybe it was because of the dark. Sure, Pitch didn't scare him, but he was real, and without the Guardians or his friends, how much of a chance did he stand on his own against the dreaded Boogeyman? _

_Well, no time to think about it now. Slowly and carefully, he entered the cave. He pulled out a small flashlight from his pocket, and turned it on. It gave off little light, but at least he could see where he was going now._

_He walked around, shining the light on the walls, which were covered in dead moss and vines. The __ground crunched under his feet, covered in dry leaves. Soon, he reached a small area inside the cave, near the back of it._

_It wasn't much, except that there was a small table made out of stone int he middle. Hanging off of it upside down, a teenager was lying on the hard ground, holding his head. Jamie gasped, and almost dropped the flashlight._

_The boy looked up at him. "Who are you?" Jamie could have asked the same question. "I'm Jamie. Jamie Bennett. What's your name?" The boy pulled himself up off the ground, and dusted his weird space suit off._

"_My name is...Nick...uh, Late. Nick Late." It sounded like he had just thought it up out of the blue, but Jamie didn't ask questions. The boy looked around, like he was lost, so Jamie started conversation. "Uh, so, Nick, were you the one who screamed?"_

_Nick looked over at him, and grinned. "Oops, yeah. I fell off the table here. Clumsy me." Jamie laughed, and Nick joined in. "Well, welcome to Burgess, Nick Late." Nick smiled. "Thank you...Jamie."_

Sophie clapped her hands. "Bravo! Bravo!" She loved stories. Jamie sarcastically bowed. "Thank you, thank you." He grinned. "And that, Sophie, is how I met Nick." She frowned. "Then what happened?" He smiled.

"Well, he told me that he's living with his grandmother on the outskirts of town, and babysits for money. He's home schooled, and he believes in the Guardians, too." Sophie playfully punched his arm. "I know that already, silly!"

The door opened behind them, and Sara walked in. She was wearing her long black hair down, and was wearing a long green shirt over her black jeans and brown socks. "Time for bed, kiddies." They both groaned, but Sophie jumped down off the bed, and ran to her room.

"Night, Jamie." She smiled, and slowly closed the door." Sara?" She stopped with the door only slightly ajar. "Yes, Jamie?" He got under his covers. "Do you really not believe in the Guardians?" She looked away.

"The Guardians...they're not real, Jamie. I'm sorry." With that she closed the door, and stood there until she heard Jamie begin to snore. "...Oh, Jamie, I'm so sorry." She looked out their living room window. "The Guardians...how can I tell you?"


	13. Ch 13: Two caged lanterns

Nick opened his eyes slowly. He sat up, his head aching, and his clothes all sandy. "Black sand. Now I remember." He and the Guardians had been ambushed, and he couldn't do anything but get himself kidnapped. He looked around in agony.

He was in a small black cage, which was hanging off of the ceiling high up from the ground. All around him, hundreds of empty cages just like the one he was in were hanging around, and he didn't want to think about what they were supposed to hold...other than him.

His pocket buzzed, and he pulled out Pebble, who had gotten caught in it during the attack. "Hey, there. You okay?" Nick petted her wings, and she chirped. He smiled. "Good." He then gazed around. "This is so strange."

"Welcome to the club." Nick gasped, and turned around in his cage. Behind him, the next cage was holding someone, a tall boy. He had black hair that completely hid one of his ruby eyes, and was wearing a black t-shirt with "I BITE" printed in a dark red on it. He also had black cargo pants and dark red army boots on.

His skin was very pale, Like Nick's. He was frowning. "Who are you?" Nick had never seen him before. The boy smirked, showing off small fangs in his mouth. "My name's Jacko." Nick thought for a moment. "Jacko...Lantern? You're a Jack-o-Lantern?"

Jacko looked just like any other ordinary kid around Nick's age, except for the fangs and glowing ruby eyes, of course. Then again, so did Jack Frost. Was he the only one who had lost their memories of being someone else? Could their be another person like him?...No, he highly doubted it. North wouldn't be so excited, then.

Jacko smiled. "Nope. I'm THE Jack-o-Lantern." Pebble spun around, confused. "Same, Pebble. Jack-o-lanterns are pumpkins with carved in faces. You don't look like a pumpkin at all." Jacko sighed. "And you don't look like a bumpkin. That would be because of Halloween, here."

A small spirit, about Pebble's size, flew into view. It was a small pumpkin head with a carved face into it, a small glow coming from inside its head. It was wearing a black robe under it, causing it to look like the king of the Jack-o-lanterns.

"So, you're the spirit of Halloween? Named after your pet?" Jacko nodded. "That's right, and you're..." He looked over at Pebble, who was fascinated by Halloween. "...Please don't tell me you're the Tooth fairy I've heard so much about."

Nick chuckled. "Nah, I'm Nick Late...or, well, Nightlight." Jacko's eyes widened. "Nightlight? I've heard of you from Sandman." Nick smiled. "You know Sandy?" Jacko nodded again. "Yeah, well, things are complicated."

Complicated? Nick wondered what he meant by that. Sandy was hard to understand, sure, but did that mean that he was complicated? "What do you mean?" Pebble rested on his shoulder, and kept her eyes glued on Halloween, who was rotating round and round.

"Well, every Halloween, me and the Boogeyman – you know him, right? - well, me and him have a deal. If he lets me travel around using his world, the place we're in right now, then I'll let him give the kids nightmares that one night, a sort of freebie."

Nick frowned. "What about Sandman?" Jacko smiled. "Well, I also made a deal with the Sandman. If he lets me let Pitch give the kids nightmares for one night, I'll keep my tricks to a minimum, and my treats somewhat healthy."

Nick laughed. "Sounds like an okay deal." He glanced around. "So why are you in a cage, then? Doesn't Pitch like you for letting him give out free nightmares?" Jacko slumped back on the inside of the cage.

"Yeah, well, that's where things got weird. You see, last year, Sandy said that I had to let him keep Pitch away, since...You know, he never gave me a strait answer. He sort of coughed into his sleeve and just told me not to let him. And, him being one of the Guardians, I told Pitch, but he wasn't too happy."

"He said I had broken our deal, and wouldn't listen to me tell him he could do it the next year. Apparently he was pretty excited for that one. Do you remember anything special going on during that time?"

Nick thought back. He had been in Burgess, and was trick-or-treating with Sophie dressed as a fairy, and Jamie dressed up as a superhero. "...No, nothing out of the ordinary there." Jacko rolled his eyes. "Of course not."

"Well, the other day, he got real mad about something going on, and while I was walking around the forest near Burgess with Halloween – he likes that forest out of all of them – he dragged me underground, and trapped me in this cage."

Nick looked back at him, and groaned. "...I think it was me." Jacko cocked his head. "What?" Nick pulled his hood over his head, ashamed. "I'm the reason you're here." Pebble flew up to his eyes. Hers were shining now.

"I have no memory of being Nightlight. I think Pitch wanted to use this chance to give me nightmares before I found out who I was. Now that I know, I won't be afraid. Therefore, he took out his anger about me by trapping you down here."

Jacko shrugged. "Hey, you didn't ask for Pitch to kidnap me, or try to give you nightmares, you have your memories erased, or-" "Wait." Nick held his hands out. "You can ask for you memories to be erased?"

Jacko nodded again. Nick hoped he wasn't getting a sore neck from it. "Well, yeah. You can ask Memoir." Nick pondered the thought. "Who is Memoir?" Jacko looked around, like saying her name was a bad thing.

"I'm not supposed to tell anyone, but...well, she's the cousin of the tooth Fairy." Nick gawked. "Tooth has a cousin? A family?" Jacko smiled. "She's the only one. Oh, except for the Mardi-Gra twins." Nick grinned. "Wow. Why not tell her?"

Jacko slumped down even further, and Nick thought he was about to fall asleep. "Memoir doesn't want her to find out." Nick's smile faded. "Why not?" Jacko looked over at him, his eyes now dull. "...Memoir is a ghost."


	14. Ch 14: Darkened chances

"A ghost?!" Nick thought he had heard wrong, but Jacko seemed firm on his answer. "That's right, so keep it down." Nick nodded silently, hoping Pitch wasn't listening in on their conversation. "You don't think...she could tell me what happened to my memories, do you?"

What if he had asked this Memoir person to erase his memories. Would he want them back?...Even if he didn't, he had to know why he hadn't wanted them in the first place. Either way, he needed to know, or he might go crazy.

Jacko sat up strait. "I'm not sure. She could, but you'd have to let her know you're not her enemy. She's very shy around others. Oh, and I'd need to be there." Nick tilted his head. "Why?" Jacko smirked. "I'm the only one who she trusts without a doubt. Halloween spirit, remember? Ghosts are my thing."

"As the spirit of Halloween, every type of ghoul, ghost or strange, paranormal creature is under my control. All except for Pitch, of course. Mummy? Check. Vampire? I'm part of the bloodline, hence the fangs."

Nick smiled. "Could you come with me?" Jacko thought for a moment. "...Sure, if we ever get out of here." Nick grinned, and, mulling around in his pocket, brought out a piece of string. "I borrowed this from Santa's workshop. Jack said that it'd be a good idea to have something in my pocket." Jacko smiled. "Why did he say that?"

Nick shrugged. "No idea, but I wasn't going to pass up his advice. Looks like it is going to come in handy." Slowly, be began to sway his cage back and fourth. Pebble held onto his hood. Jacko stared at him.

"What are you doing?" Nick grinned. "Getting us out of these cages." Finally, his cage banged into Jacko's, and Nick grabbed onto it. Quickly, he tied them together, and let go. The string held them against one another.

"Um...?" Jacko shook his head. "Again I ask, what are you doing?" Nick grinned. "If we can break open the cages, we can get out of here, you can take me to Memoir, and then we can help the Guardians stop Pitch from taking over the world."

Jacko smirked. "So, how do you expect us to break the cages?" Nick thought for a moment. "...I have no idea." Jacko almost hit his head off the bars. "Genius." He looked around. "Hmm..." He rested against the back of the caging and, facing Nick, placed his shoes on the tied bars.

"Yeah, that could work." He looked over at Nick. "I would stand back if I were you. Er, well, sit back. if I were you. I've never really had to escape, so this could be a total bust of an idea, thanks to yours truly."

Nick moved back at bit. "So, you have a plan?" Jacko snickered. "Nope. Just...winging it." Bringing his knees back, he rammed his boots into the bars, and a low creaking sound was created. "Oh!" Nick snapped his fingers. As Jacko readied to stomp on the bars again, Nick held Pebble in his pocket.

"Now!" Nick rammed his shoulder against the back wall of the cage, and Jacko slammed his boots into the bars. A loud crack sound echoed out, and the two parts of the cages tied together broke loose, falling to the ground until they broke apart.

The cages swung back and fourth, and Nick had to hold onto his not to fall out. Jacko smiled, and Halloween flew over to Nick's pocket, snuggling in beside Pebble, who chirped happily at the company.

"Why name the holiday after Halloween?" Jacko quickly glanced at the pocket Pebble and Halloween were sharing. "I don't know. I found him after I had become the spirit, and he was my first ever friend. I felt I needed to honour that, so I named my day after him."

Nick gawked. "So, you can control Halloween? And..Memoir, for that matter." Jacko frowned. "Well, yeah, I guess. Never really wanted to. I thought she could take care of herself, so I let her go off on her own. I didn't want to hold her back."

"Aw," Nick smiled. At least Pebble wouldn't be lonely, and soon, neither would Memoir. "Now what?" Nick flew out. "I can fly. How about you?" Jacko grinned. "Watch." He jumped out, and began to fall. "Jacko!?" Nick started to fly towards him, but was pushed back by two large shapes appearing from his back. "Whoa. You have wings?"

Jacko flew up beside him, two bat wings coming out of his back. They were a black colour, with little sharp claws at the ends of them. They were also decorated in red and orange chains, that glowed now and then.

"Yup. Told you'd I wing it." Nick chuckled. "Cool. Try to keep up." Jacko bowed sarcastically. "Yes, your highness." He murmured 'Bumpkin' under his breath, and crossed his arms. "So, which way is out, your majesty?"

Nick looked around in all directions. "Um...well, I guess it could be..." He looked over at Jacko. "Okay, you win. You use this place to get around the world, I guess you'll know where to go without us ending up in Europe, or something." Jacko smirked. "But of course."

"**Well, well, well,"** A deep voice filled the strange realm. "Pitch." Nick growled, and looked around. He was hiding again. Pebble and Halloween held each other closely in his pocket, and Jacko bared his fangs.

"**You honestly think I'm going to let you get away from me so easily?"** They both turned around to see a tall figure with charcoal skin, black hair and a black robe standing on one of the nearby cages. "You're Pitch?" Nick was expecting more, but Pitch only laughed.

"**What were you expecting?"** Jacko sneered. "Probably expecting someone at least a bit scarier than a chocolate bar." Nick nodded. "Yeah. Jacko is scarier than you could ever be!" Pitch only laughed even louder.

"**The spirit of Halloween? Scarier than me? Oh, that is a laugh."** Pitch disappeared, and Nick tried to find him again. Unfortunately, the entire place had nooks and crannies where he could hide in the dark. "This isn't good..."


	15. Ch 15: Hallo victory

"Come out here and fight like a man!" Jacko called out as his wings grew even larger. Pitch snickered. **"I haven't been a man for a very long time."** Nick wondered what that meant, but there was no time to think about that. "Let us go, Pitch!" He started to glow.

"**No. You're both two meddlesome bothers, and you need to be kept under lock and key."** Pitch snarled from the darkness. "We didn't do anything to you," Nick tried to reason with him, but he knew it wouldn't work.

"**Oh, you might not remember it, but this is all your fault, Nightlight."** Pitch's voice became sharp, angry. **"It's all your fault that I'm here, bothering the children, ruining the Guardians. It's all your fault that children have nightmares."**

Nick felt a sudden emptiness inside. "My fault?" His voice was quiet. "Don't listen to him, Nick." Jacko flew back from him a bit, glancing around. "Come out here, you coward! Stop lying, it won't work."

"**No, I suppose not."** Pitch grumbled. **"I suppose the only way to show you...is to force you back into your cages, like the monsters you are."** Jacko turned around to face Pitch, who was now floating a top a small platform of black sand.

Using his powers, he created a long string of sand, with a spiked ball at the end, the size of himself. Swinging it behind him, he swung it strait at Jacko, smacking him down. **"Learned your lesson?"** Nick felt a rush of anger. "No! Jacko!"

Jacko smashed into the golden world globe Pitch kept to watch over the believing children of the world. It moaned with the sudden impact, but stayed completely still. Pitch smiled. **"Who's scarier now, Nightlight?"**

Nick raced down to Jacko. He rubbed his head, but seemed to be in one piece. He tried to move away from the globe, but froze. "Jacko, your wings." Nick flew over beside him. His wings were inside the globe, caught on the various continents, the chains glowing.

"My wings...I'm stuck!" He wriggled around, but his wings wouldn't come out. Nick grabbed his wrist and, resting his feet against the globe, began pulling on it. "Ow!" Jacko snapped. "You're going to pull my arm off!"

Pitch laughed, his voice raspy. **"Soon, you will both become my most powerful nightmares."** Snapping his fingers, a hoard of nightmares appeared behind him, rearing their heads and neighing in a deep chorus of voices.

Nick looked them over. "Oh, no." He turned back to Jacko. "Can't you lose the wings?" Jacko frowned. "I'm trying!" The wings rustled around, but the chains caught onto the edges of the countries. Nick tugged on Jacko's arm again, but he didn't budge.

"**Enough fooling around."** Pitch whistled. **"Get them!"** The nightmares charged at them. However, before they could reach them, Halloween flew out of Nick's pocket, and stood between them and the nightmares.

"Halloween?" Nick called to him, but Halloween ignored him. Taking in a deep breath, he faced the nightmares. They started to slow down, but continued to race towards them. Jacko panicked. "Wait, Halloween!"

"BOOOOOOOO!" Halloween grew ten times larger, and howled at the nightmares. The sound waves slammed into them, and they dispersed into nothing. **"What?!"** Pitch glared at them. Halloween turned and smiled at them.

"Way to go, Halloween." Jacko grinned. However, Halloween wasn't finished. Facing them, he took in another deep breath. "Wait, stop!" Jacko yelled at him. "You can't do more than one a day, or else you'll-"

"BOOOOOOOO!" Halloween howled in their direction. Nick flew back and hit the wall, Pebble shaking around in his pocket. Falling to the ground, he looked up at the globe. It began to shake. **"No!"** Pitch yelled out, but it was too late.

The globe broke off of its stand, and was flung against the wall, where it smashed into five pieces. Jacko landed on the ground underneath them. He quickly raised his head. Halloween smiled at them sadly, then in a puff of black smoke, disappeared.

"Halloween!" Jacko closed his eyes, and lowered his head. "No..." Pitch grinned at them. **"Well, I might have lost my globe, but you seemed to have lost something a little bit...bigger. Oh, and I can easily fix what I lost. You can't...too bad."**

Nick stood up, and Pebble flew out of his pocket into the air. She looked around frantically, and began to hover down to the floor. Nick cupped his hands and caught her, and, holding her close, she began to cry.

He glared at Pitch. "You'll pay for that!" He flew up at him, still holding Pebble. "Nick, no!" Jacko tried to stand, but fell back down, the weight of the globe's pieces on top of him. His wings were bent under them, and his chains lost their glow.

Nick stopped in front of Pitch, who was scoffing at him. **"Come to destroy me?"** Nick shook his head. "No. I won't do that, but.."He felt a warm heat inside of him. "I will show you my power, for Halloween's sake!"

Pitch floated back on his black sand platform as Nick began to glow. **"No...stop!"** He didn't stop, though. He kept thinking about Halloween, about the glow inside of him, and his sacrifice. Soon, Pebble closed her eyes, tears running down her small face.

Pitch covered his eyes. **"Enough of this!"** He disappeared into the darkness. Nick sighed, losing his glow. Pebble looked up at him. He smiled at her, and held her close. "I'm so sorry, Pebble. I really am, believe me."

"**This isn't over, Nightlight."** Pitch's voice was loud, but seemed to be moving away. **"The children of the world will fall into nightmares, especially the Bennetts. Soon after, I shall destroy the Guardians, and then, the Man on the Moon!"**

With that, the voice hissed, slowly disappearing until only silence and Pebble's whimpering was to be heard. The realm seemed to be abandoned, the cages silent and frozen in time. Nick felt like he was inside of Pitch himself. Then, he fainted.


	16. Ch 16: Crash the neighbourhood

"Hello, Abbey!" Sophie looked into their dog's doghouse in the backyard. Abbey was trying to sleep, but it was a bit hard with Sophie yelling into her ears. Jamie walked out of the house. "Come on, Sophie, stop bugging Abbey."

Sophie giggled, and ran over to him. He was wearing a grey jacket and brown pants with white sneakers. Sophie had decided on her pink jacket with blue butterfly printed jeans and her new, sparkly pink shoes.

"Let's play, Jamie!" She glanced around. "Where's mommy?" Jamie frowned. "She went off to work early. Sara's in the house." She pouted. "I want Nick back." She sat on the ground and crossed her arms and legs.

"Hey, I want him too," Jamie sat down beside her. "But we can't find him, and Sara is closer." Suddenly, they both looked up to hear something in the sky above them. Sophie gasped. "Jamie, look up there!"

She pointed to something flying around in the sky. However, it was swerving out of control. Jamie stood up and squinted at it. "Is that...Santa's sleigh?" As it got closer, he grinned. "It is! It's the Guardians!"

Sophie stood up and started jumping up and down. "They're here! They're...gonna crash!" They both ducked their heads as the reindeer flew over them, followed by the sleigh. The bells were jingling very loudly now.

The sleigh disappeared into the forest. A mighty crash came from further into the trees. "Oh, no!" Jamie ran out of the yard. Sophie followed as quickly as she could. "What are you doing, Jamie?" He turned to her. "I'm going to see if the Guardians are okay!"

He ran off, soon hidden by the trees. Sophie turned to the house. "Sorry, Sara." She ran off, trying to keep up with Jamie.

* * *

_Nightlight. _Nick opened his eyes. How many times was he going to faint? He sat up, and looked around. He was still inside of Pitch's realm. Pebble flew up in front of his face. She chirped at him. "What happened, Pebble?"

She chirped a few times, flying around. He nodded. "Pitch put us to sleep? I thought only Sandy could do that?" She sadly shook her head, and he gasped. "Pitch is getting stronger by the minute." He stood up, dusting off his legs.

"Oh, Halloween..." He sighed. He couldn't save him. "...Jacko!" He spun around and ran towards the broken fragments of the globe. Underneath it, Jacko was asleep, his large wings covering most of his body.

"Jacko, wake up!" Nick pushed off one of the fragments, and rolled Jacko over onto his back, his wings caught between Europe and Canada. The chains looked almost rusted. He grabbed and shook Jacko. "Jacko, you have to wake up! Jacko!"

Finally, Jacko opened his eyes. "Nick?" Nick dropped him, and he hit his head against western Canada. "That's gonna leave a mark." He looked around. "Pitch is gone...and so is Halloween." He tried to sit up, but his wings were still stuck in part of the globe, which still gleamed with the lights of all the believing children.

Nick sighed. "I'm sorry, Jacko." Jacko looked up at him, and smiled. "It isn't your fault. Whatever Pitch was saying, it was just to make you feel bad." Nick smiled. "Is there any way to save him? To save Halloween?" Jacko frowned. "I hope so."

Jacko tried to sit up again, but his wings bent, and he winced. "Stupid things." Nick chuckled. "Don't you ever get tired of lugging those around?" Jacko smirked at him. "You have no idea. The first time I used them, I almost crashed into the Great Wall of China."

Nick laughed, and gazed around. "How do we get out of here?" Jacko smiled. "I know this place like the back of my hand. There are plenty of ways out, but only one leads to Memoir." Nick turned back to him.

"You'll really take me to see Memoir?" Jacko nodded. "Yeah, why not? If it can help you get your memories back." Nick smiled. "Thanks." Jacko shook his head. "No problem." Pebble spun around, delighted at meeting someone new, who wasn't trying to destroy the Guardians.

Jacko looked down at his wings. "Now, about these clumsy attachments." He ruffled them, but they didn't move. "Can't pull them in, the chains and claws are caught on them. Hope I'm not hurting any of the children."

He opened them. "Wait, Jacko-" Too late. The pile of fragments fell on top of the wings. "Hey!" Jacko fell back, now in a sitting position, his wings under the pile of heavy metal. "Oh, that's just perfect." He moaned.

Nick laughed. "Guess I'm not as clumsy as I thought. Here," He bent down, and grabbed both of Jacko's wrists. "This might hurt, bumpkin." He stood up, and pulled. "Ow!" Jacko hissed. "Geez, and I heard you were gentle."

Nick smirked. "Yeah, well, I doubt I had to save anyone else from their own wings. Hmm..." He placed his one sneaker on the country of Europe (hoping he wasn't crushing anyone in real life), and pulled harder. "Gah!" Jacko bit his tongue, pulling his fangs in.

His wings rustled around. "You'd better not break them." Jacko smiled, but Pebble flew down and started pecking him on the top of his head. "Hey, stop that!" She giggled. Nick chuckled. "Come on, now, Pebble, that isn't very nice." She shrugged.

More of his wings would be seen. "There." He let go of Jacko's wrist, and grabbed his elbows. "What are you doing?" Nick sighed. "Um, only saving you." Holding onto his arms tightly, Nick yanked back hard.

After a few seconds of pulling, Nick fell back, followed by Jacko, who landed on him. "Great. My turn to say ouch." The fragments of the Globe settled on top of each other as they both stood up. Jacko pulled his wings in.

"Okay, from now on, I fly us around," Nick smiled. "Fine," Jacko agreed. "Let's go before we're crushed by another globe. Who knows how many Pitch has hiding around."


	17. CH 17: Fighting on thin ice

"Jack? Jack!" Jack opened his eyes, and looked around. Standing over top of him, Jamie stared at him. "Jamie? What happened?" Jamie smiled. "Thank goodness you're alive!" Jack stood up, using his staff for support.

"What happened?" He looked around again. "Uh, oh." The sled was upside down, and the reindeer were pacing around frantically. North, Baby tooth and Tooth were examining the damage, while Sandy and Sophie helped Bunnymund collect his missing egg grenades. Couldn't leave those around.

Jamie tugged on Jack's jacket. "What were you guys doing, flying around crazy like that?" Jack chuckled. "Let's just say, never let a rabbit drive the sleigh." Bunnymund snorted at him. "Pooka, mate."

Jack turned to him. "What?" Bunnymund sighed, and hopped over. "I'm not actually a rabbit, Jack. I'm an ancient Pooka." Jamie cocked his head. "What's a Pooka?" Bunnymund pointed to his chest. "Me. I'm the last one."

Jack began to wonder just what the Guardians weren't telling him. "Why am I just hearing about this no-" "Jack! Jamie!" North hobbled over, Tooth and baby tooth fluttering around. "You are both safe! Good to see!"

Jamie smiled. "I'm glad to see you all here again!" Sophie and Sandy joined the group. "Yay, the Guardians are back!" Then, she frowned. "Why?" Sandy sighed. He began to form sand images over his head, but he kept speeding up, merging snowflakes with nightmares, children with teeth, and who knows what else.

Sophie stared at him. "...Um, you got lost?" He shrugged. "Not exactly," Tooth flew down beside her. Baby tooth sped around her head, and Sophie giggled. Tooth, however, wasn't smiling. "We have a problem."

Tooth explained the whole situation, from the new Guardian Nick, to the book, to their ancestor, to Nick being kidnapped. Once she was finished, Jamie and Sophie were gawking at her. "...Too fast for you?"

Jamie was the first to speak. "Nick? Nick LATE?" Sophie shook her head, like she couldn't believe it. "Nick? No way! He's our babysitter!" Jack nodded. "We know he's your friend. That's why we came to you."

"However, North had this GREAT idea of Bunnymund flying us their. It's a miracle that we're alive here to tell you everything!" Jamie laughed. "So, how do we save Nick?" North shook his head. "We will save Nick. You stay here."

Jamie pouted. "What! Why?" Jack bent down to Jamie's height and placed his hand on his shoulder. "This is going to be much more dangerous than last time. We need you to stay here. Keep the belief high."

"Jamie! Sophie!" Everyone turned to see Sara standing on the ice, wearing a blue jacket over green pants and black snow boots, her long hair in a ponytail. Jamie smiled. "Sara, meet the Guardians!" Sophie laughed. "Ta-da!"

Sara, however, didn't smile, or laugh, or faint, or anything. Instead, she only stared in shock at the sight of an upside down sleigh with wild reindeer flying around, a large man with a sword at his side, a giant bunny, a little man wearing a sand suit, a pale boy with no shoes on, and two hummingbird women, one of human size.

"Wha...you're...here..." Sara shook her head. "Why are you here?!" She hissed. Sandy floated over in front of her. He waved his hand, trying to calm her down. "Sandy's right," Bunnymund spoke up. "There's no need to fear us, Sara."

"You think I fear you?!" Sara growled at them. "You're going to ruin EVERYTHING!" Jack protectively pushed Jamie behind him, Sophie following. "What do you mean," North said, "what are we ruining?"

Sara looked down. "Pitch sent me." Tooth gasped, and Baby tooth huddled behind her. "You mean...you're a..." Sara looked up at them, and smiled. "That's right, Toothiana. I'm the nightmare princess."

Bunnymund growled, and threw an egg grenade at her. However, Sara simply pushed it back with black sand, and it exploded in the air, scaring off the reindeer. "Too slow, Aster." Tooth raced at her, but was shot off, back at North by a large wave of black sand.

"Tooth!" Sophie ran over to her. "I'm fine." She sat up, her wings jittering. Sara smiled. "It's true, you know. Pitch knew that Jamie and Sophie would be a problem, so he sent me to try and break their spirits, do the whole cute girl act, until they finally believed me. However, their belief was too strong. Well, not anymore."

Sara's clothes began to change. Instead of the clothing she came out with, she now wore a dark black Lolita dress, her black hair in two pigtails. She wore black socks up to her knees, with black dress shoes.

"Let's see what you Guardians can really do!" She snapped her fingers, and immediately, five large black viper nightmares produced from the ice under them. "Let's get 'im, mates!" Bunnymund rushed at the lead one.

The viper lunged at Bunnymund, but he dodged and attacked from behind it, using another egg grenade. It recoiled, but not before Bunnymund took his boomerang and threw it at the head. It shot right through the snake's head, and it vanished into a pile of sand, the boomerang returning strait back to Bunny's hand.

Sandy took out two whips of sand, and caught the snake within them. It twisted and turned, but couldn't escape the dream sand as Sandy threw it around. Finally, Sandy threw it up in the air, only for the reindeer to trample it between them, destroying it.

"Ah-ha!" North swung wildly at the snake, and it continued to slither around, trying to bite North, but always missing. Eventually, North sliced at its tail, and it shrieked. Jamie stuck his foot out, and it tripped, disintegrating. North high-fived Jamie, and laughed. "Good one, Jamie."

Tooth spun around, dizzying the viper, but it didn't fall. Sophie raced over to the snow with Baby tooth, who helped her make the perfect snowball. Aiming, Sophie threw it, and hit the snake right in the back of the head. Turning and hissing, the snake readied to attack, but was destroyed quickly but Tooth's wigs as she flew right through it.

"Hah!" Jack jumped right over the snake's head, and shot it down with ice. He then flew over to Sara. "You lose, your highness." Sara snickered. "Well, at least Pitch doesn't keep secrets from me, Frostbite."

"What?" Jack tried to grab her arm, but she flew out of his reach, and the rest of the Guardians, along with Jamie and Sophie, joined him. She smiled. "You're good. However, this isn't over. It's never over!" She began to fly off.

"I'll be back, and so will Pitch!" She soon disappeared behind the clouds. North sighed. "This is not good." Sophie frowned. "Wait a minute. If Sara is a nightmare, then...who's going to babysit us?!" Jamie moaned. "That's the least of our problems."

Jack wasn't listening. "_Well, at least Pitch doesn't keep secrets from me, Frostbite._" What had she meant by that? Jack never knew about Tooth being a Queen, or the Pooka thing, sure, but that was it...right?


	18. CH 18: A bubbly realm

"Whoa." That was all Nick could say. He and Jacko had been travelling for a while, but finally, they had reached their destination. Hidden behind some tall mountains out...well, Nick didn't know where, but it was secluded. It had been such a long trip, Pebble had fallen asleep in his pocket, so he decided to leave her there for now.

It wasn't what he had in mind at all. He was expecting some sort of serene creek, or a lovely flower garden, or...anything. Instead, he and Jacko stood in front of the world's largest pink bubble gum bubble, floating a few meters off the ground.

"Well," Jacko caught Nick's attention, "what do you think?" Nick laughed. "It's amazing. Totally not what I was expecting, Jacko." Jacko smirked. "Of course not, silly. Memoir is one mysterious ghost, after all."

He walked over right under the bubble. "Now, that's strange." Nick walked up beside him. "What's strange?" Jacko clicked his tongue. "There are usually stairs leading up into the bubble, but...they're gone."

Nick examined the area. Sure enough, there was no way to get into the bubble. "Oh, well," Jacko smirked at Nick, "give me a boost, dummy." Nick sighed, but crouched down, and cuffed his hands together.

Jacko stepped onto his hands, and leaned against Nick's shoulders. He hoisted him up, and Jacko pushed on the wall of the bubble. His arm disappeared into the swirly pink colour, followed by his head, chest, and soon, he couldn't be seen at all.

Nick smiled nervously at the bubble's surface. What if Memoir wouldn't help him find his memories again? What if the whole trip had been nothing but a waste of time? Would he be stuck as Nick forever?...Was that so bad?

Suddenly, Jacko's head popped out from the bubble. "You coming, Nick?" Nick looked up at him, and nodded. "Good," Jacko disappeared again, and his arm stretched out. Nick grabbed a hold of it, and felt himself pulled up through the soft bubble surface.

"Bwah!" He had to spit out gum from his mouth. Jacko smiled, and let his hand go. "Welcome to Memoir's world, Nick." Nick glanced around, taking it all in. It was much more beautiful inside than out.

It was like a large garden inside, filled with different coloured flowers, trees, and...flying elephants? Yes, there were two or three elephants with wings taking to flight around the large sky area. It reminded Nick of a garden in a dome, crystal clear water ponds and falls included.

"Wow..." His attention was then caught by Jacko, who was busy picking off gum from his clothes. "What happened to you?" Jacko frowned at him. "No idea. Memoir's bubble has never done this before. Usually, it doesn't break apart."

Nick looked at his own arms and hair, and realized that he had gum in it, too. He also realized that he was still half-way in the bubble. "Oops." Jacko laughed, and reached out his hand. Nick grabbed it, and Jacko yanked him up onto solid dirt ground.

"So, where's Memoir?" Nick tried to spot anyone, but he could see nothing but plants and elephants. Jacko shrugged, and walked off. "Come on, she's around here somewhere." Nick quickly followed behind.

After about an hour of searching through the bubble's world, Jacko rested near an old brick well, surrounded by purple and pink tulips, and cotton egg decorations. Nick stood in front of him, retracing their last few steps in his mind.

"This doesn't make any sense." Jacko stood up strait, frustrated at not accomplishing anything. "She should be here. She never leaves the place!" He rested his hands on the well, facing down its hollow inside, the sound of lapping water echoing at the bottom.

"...Nick." Nick looked up at him. "Yeah?" "...Memoir's bubble realm doesn't have a well in it." Nick snickered. "You're kidding, right? What do you call what you're leaning on?" Jacko leaned forward. "Hello?"

Nick shook his head. "You don't think she's down there, do you?" Jacko sighed. "I'm not sure, but I've been here hundreds of times. There is no well, Nick. This isn't...what the-?" Jacko leaned down farther. "What's that?"

"What's what?" Nick felt something was off. They weren't alone, he knew it. Jacko, however, didn't seem to notice. "There's something in the water, but I can't make it out...ah!" He drew his head up as a thin whip of black sand exploded from the well.

Nick gasped. "Pitch!" The whip swerved around, until it whipped down, and wrapped around Jacko's arm. "Hey!" He tried to shake it off, but it held tight, and began to pull him near the well. "Stop!" It was too late.

"Jacko!" Nick called out as Jacko bent over the side of the well, and fell in. "Jacko!" Nick raced over and managed to grab Jacko's ankles. The whip of sand kept pulling, though, and Nick felt the air in his lungs choked out as his chest was pushed hard against the well's side.

Jacko hissed, and grabbed the whip. He grew out his two front fangs, and tried to bite it apart. "Bleh!" He spit out mouthfuls of sand, but the whip wouldn't break. He shrunk his fangs back, but kept his night vision on.

"Pitch!" Jacko called out into the darkness. "Let me go!" Deep laughter could be heard, now, completely surrounding them. **"Not until I'm finished with you...properly."** Nick growled. "Enough, Pitch! Leave us alone!"

"**No. You both are too much trouble, and I can't have you or the memory ghost running around without restriction. Now, be a good little alien, Nightlight, and drop into the well. I don't have to make you, now, do I?"** The laughter soon faded, but the whip didn't.

"Hang on!" Nick tried to pull them up, but the whip only tugged harder, and Nick almost lost his balance. Suddenly, he felt someone grab his legs, and begin to lift him up. "Wait!" Whoever it was, they didn't listen.

Nick fell over the edge, and both he and Jacko fell down the well, bumping against the slimy walls. _Why can't I fly?! My powers aren't working! _ The last thing he felt was the cold splash of the water as he and Jacko dove in.


	19. CH 19: Can't see a hero

"So, wait, Jack. You guys were looking for Mother Nature herself?" Jamie tried to take it in. After finding out that his replacement babysitter was actually the nightmare princess working for Pitch Black, anything was possible.

They were all inside his living room, while North was fixing up the sleigh back on the ice. Sandy was sitting on the love chair, while Bunnymund and Tooth shared the couch. Sophie was outside feeding the reindeer, and he and Jack decided to bring in some chairs from the kitchen.

"That's right, mate," Bunnymund sighed, "but first, we need to find the Groundhog…no matter how annoying he is." Tooth wagged her finger at him. "Now, Bunnymund, Harold isn't that bad." Jamie choked back a laugh. "His name is Harold?"

Jack chuckled. "I was just as surprised as you are. However, he can lead us to Mother Nature. His tunnels connect deeper into the forest's Earth than Bunnymund's. When we find Mother Nature, she can lead us strait to Pitch."

Jamie thought about the plan. "How well does Mother Nature know Pitch?" Tooth and Bunnymund exchanged worried glances, and Sandy looked away, not making eye contact. Jack shrugged. "Well, guys? She knows him, right? Who doesn't?"

Sandy nodded, and Jamie felt that, for some strange reason, the Guardians didn't want to talk about Pitch and Mother Nature as a whole. "That's right," Tooth smiled sadly, "especially Mother Nature." Just then, Sophie ran into the room.

"The sleigh is all fixed!" She smiled. Tooth, Sandy and Bunnymund went to check on it. Jack began to follow them, but was stopped by Jamie. "Wait, Jack," He reached into his pocket, and brought out a small blue cellphone.

"Take this, so we can keep in contact." Jack took it, and examined it closely. "…How do I use it?" Jamie laughed, but made a sudden gasping sound. "Sophie!" Jack spun around as a large nightmare scorpion stood outside the front door of the house, right behind Sophie. She turned, but couldn't get away in time.

The scorpion jetted out its tail, and wrapped it around Sophie. It lifted her up as she screamed in horror, kicking and wriggling around. It jumped back from the door. "No!" Jack ran out and blasted it with a jet of ice, but it had no effect.

The scorpion's form started to change. Sophie was lost in a whirlwind of sand, until the creature took the form of a large eagle, and flew off, heading farther away. "Jack!" Jack turned back to Jamie, who was shivering.

"It's okay, Jamie," Jack ran off to the lake where the others were, "I'll get her back, safe and sound! I promise!" He left Jamie standing at the door. Soon, he found the other piling into the sleigh, North at the reins.

"Jack, what is wrong?" He jumped in beside Tooth. "We have to hurry; a nightmare just took Sophie away!" Tooth gasped. "Step on it, North!" He nodded his head, and slapped the reins down. The reindeer neighed, and bolted into the sky.

Soon, the nightmare was in view again. Tooth flew off of the sleigh, Baby tooth hiding within Jack's hood. She swooped around it, and darted back, concern on her face. "I don't see Sophie anywhere!" Jack growled.

"She's inside it!" He flew off, and soared over top of the eagle. Taking his staff, he shot down four ice beams at the wings. However, they disappeared, with no effect left. "What is this thing?" Sandy came up beside him, and shot sand at it, but nothing worked.

"Sandy, come take wheel!" North bellowed over the wind, and Sandy floated down and took control of the sleigh. "Hi-yah!" North jumped over and onto the eagle's back. It cawed at him, and began to shake around.

"I am not shaken so easily!" He took his swords, and sliced at the sand. It began to break apart. "It's working, North!" Tooth cheered. The nightmare, however, heard this, and exploded, black sand pushing everyone back.

Jack covered his eyes, and opened them to see Sophie in the air for just a split second, before she began to fall. "Sophie!" He screamed, and darted down after her. North landed on the sleigh. "Hurry, Jack! Don't let her be hurt!"

Sophie screamed and twirled in the air, one of her boots falling off. Jack was just close enough to grab her, but felt a sudden blast at his side, as hard as a cannon ball. He was sent strait into a large tree, where he rammed right into the bark with his back.

He landed on one of the branches. Dazed, he opened his eyes, only to see the sand once again engulf Sophie inside of it. "Sophie, no!" He tried to stand, but felt a sudden dizziness overcome him, and he had to sit down again.

He watched in desperation as Tooth tried to reach Sophie, but was thrown back by the sandy creature, that soon vanished into the sky. Sandy turned the sleigh around, and headed back to the lake. Jack did his best not to waver as he flew off, soon catching up with Tooth.

They landed in front of the house this time, Jamie waited earnestly in the driveway. Jack landed down beside him, Baby tooth flying out and resting on Tooth's shoulder. Bunnymund, Sandy and North jumped off.

"We should have kept going!" Bunnymund yelled at North. "We could have saved her!...We could have…" Jamie gasped. "You mean…you didn't…" Jack crouched down in front of him, and rested his hand on Jamie's head.

"I'm sorry, Jamie. We tried, but-" "You promised." Jack's hand was shoved off by Jamie, who glared at him, tears brimming under his eyes. Jack tightened his grip on his staff. "I know, Jamie, and I'm…I'm sorry."

"Sorry doesn't bring Sophie back!" Jack stepped back as Jamie yelled into his ear. "You promised you'd save her! You're strong enough, aren't you?!" He shook his head. "I trusted you…" Jack looked at Jamie's saddened face.

"Jamie…" Jamie wiped his nose on his sleeve. "No. I don't want to talk right now." He turned and ran into the house. Before he slammed the door, he glanced back at the Guardians. "…You're no heroes." Tooth choked back a sob as the rest lowered their heads.

Then he slammed the door shut behind him.


	20. CH 20: Day job

Jack stared at Jamie's front door, hoping that it would open again, and Jamie would come out and forgive them. He wished that something would provoke Jamie into coming out and talking to them again.

He didn't.

Jack sighed. He had to stop making promises he couldn't keep. Just because he saved his sister, or was a Guardian, didn't make him powerful enough to save everyone. Heck, even Superman couldn't save everyone.

He looked over at the other Guardians. Tooth has hugging Baby tooth tightly, and Sandy was playing with some sand, spinning it around in the air with his finger. Bunnymund looked heartbroken, and Jack knew why.

Out of all of the kids, he was closest to Sophie. She had this idea that Bunnymund was a big hero, and now, after letting her fall into the hands of Pitch, Jack knew that Bunnymund couldn't forgive himself until they saved her.

"Come on, now, sad sacks!" North smiled warmly. "I know Jamie said what he said, but he said it because he is scared! So, let's give him a reason not to be scared! Let's save Sophie!" Sandy looked up at him, and nodded.

"Alright, then," Bunnymund sniffed, and smirked. "Let's finish this here mess, and get 'er back!" Tooth's wings began to speed up. "Right! Let's find Pitch's daughter!" Sandy floated up beside her, and Baby tooth pecked his cheek.

"Wait a minute." Jack rubbed his eyes. "Did you just say...what I think you said?" Tooth hovered in front of him. "Yes, Jack. Mother Nature is Pitch's daughter, from before he was Pitch Black." Jack couldn't believe it.

"You-you mean...Pitch was somebody before he was Pitch Black?" He didn't believe it. They had to be lying...or keeping secrets from him again. "Why didn't you tell me before?" North held his hands up. "You are still new to being Guardian, Jack. We will take it slow."

"New?!" Jack felt something he thought would never feel for the Guardians again – anger. "I've been a Guardian for two years now! How new is that?!" Tooth rested her hand on his shoulder. "Please, Jack, try to understand the situation."

Jack pushed her hand away. "What situation?!" He banged his staff against the ground, and ice flew out, pushing Tooth farther away. "You're a Queen, Bunny's a Pooka, and now, I find out Pitch had a family before he was Pitch, and his daughter is Mother Nature herself?!"

He clenched his fists. "You still don't trust me, do you?" North sighed. "It is not that we do not trust you, Jack, it's just-" "What is it, then?" Jack raised his voice at them. "Why were you hiding secrets from me?"

Bunnymund walked out in front of Tooth, standing right in front of Jack. "You want the truth, mate? Fine. It's true, we still don't trust you." Tooth went to stop him, but Sandy pulled her back. North looked away.

Jack felt like he had just been hit in the gut. "...Why?" His voice was quiet, and Bunnymund breathed out heavily. "Look, Frosty, you're still a kid. There are things we don't want to rush at you all at once." Jack looked up at him.

"What about Nick?" Bunnymund stared right back at him. "What about him?" "You're willing to tell him everything, but not me?"

"Jack, Nightlight has been a Guardian longer than any of us. He was Manny's babysitter, for Mim's sake."

"But he doesn't remember anything now. He isn't Nightlight anymore."

"We're going to fix that."

"What has he done that I haven't to prove myself?"

"He defeated Pitch on his own thousands of years ago."

"That was then, this is now!"

"He helped us more than you did two hundred years ago!"

"I didn't know you back then!"

"He didn't let Sophie get taken by PITCH BLACK!"

Jack stopped. Bunnymund's eyes widened, and he realized what he had said. "Oh...Jack, mate...I'm sorry...I didn't-" "No." Jack backed away slowly from them. "You're right. Nightlight wouldn't have done that."

He began to fly away. "You know, I have secrets, too, things you guys don't know about, and never will. You know why?" He turned away from them. "Because I quit." He flew off, riding the winds away from Burgess, until he couldn't see the Guardians behind him anymore.

Bunnymund looked down at the ground. Ice patterns formed where Jack had been standing. He turned around to face the others. "I didn't mean that." Tooth flew up to him. "I know, Bunny. We'll figure this out, believe me."

"I wish I could, Toothiana."

* * *

"I wanna go home!" Sophie cried out again. She had been locked up in a black cage within Pitch's realm, the other empty cages swaying lightly, creating an eerie tune. She looked down to see Sara fixing up the broken globe.

"Those dorks had to break the big globe, huh?" She placed the last piece in, and, using black sand, sealed it together. "There, done." She looked up at Sophie, and smiled, her hair now loose around her face.

"Oh, stop crying, little girl." She flew up in front of her, and grabbed the cage bars. "You don't want to annoy me." Pulling back on the cage, she let it go, and it began to swing back and fourth, causing Sophie to tumble around.

"Ah!" She screamed again and again as the cage rocked to and fourth. "Stop it, please!" Sara laughed, and grabbed the cage, stilling it. Sophie brushed her hair back, and glared at her. "You're the worst babysitter ever!"

Sara smirked. "Well, then, guess I better not quit my day job...oh, wait!" She began to laugh again, and Sophie stuck her tongue out at her. "The Guardians will beat you, for sure! I'll never give up on believing in them!"

"**Is that so?"** Sophie gasped, and edged towards the bars of the cage, looking down at the globe. From the shadows, Pitch walked out. "You're...the boogeyman, aren't you?" Sara giggled. "Well, he ain't Cupid."

"**You think your Guardians are going to help you?"** Pitch sneered at her. **"You remind me a lot of another girl, strong and proud...however, like her, you'll be nothing but a tool I can break."**


	21. CH 21: Truth or air

Nick felt light. The air was warm, and comfortable. He felt himself floating downward, drawn towards something he couldn't see. He felt a deep calmness, one he hadn't felt before. Slowly, he opened his eyes...

And found himself underwater.

He blinked, and breathed in. _Wait, how can I breath underwater?! _Sure enough, the water was breathable. He shifted in the warm temperature, and noticed Jacko under him. He, too, was awake, and just as surprised.

"Jacko," His voice sounded far away, barely audible, "What's happening? Are we still in the well?" Jacko nodded, and pressed his hand against the slimy wall of the bricks. Nick looked upwards to see the light of Memoir's realm.

Jacko swam up beside him. "We need to get out of here. The water is trying to keep us down here, caught in sleep forever. This whole well has been cursed by someone with strong magic!" He swam upwards, reaching above the water.

Nick began to follow him, but heard the softest voice he'd ever heard.

"_Nightlight...sleep...don't leave...you love sleep...you've been asleep for a very long time...return to the darkness, Nightlight..."_

Nick shook himself, trying to keep awake, but the voice was tempting. "Who are you?"

"_Nightlight...stay down here...all of your memories will return...you'll know who you are...you'll remember Katherine, William,...Ombric...stay with me...let's stay down here..."_

Nick felt himself fall further down, his eyes becoming heavy. The voice was lulling him to sleep, and he couldn't' escape it. Just as he was about to fall asleep again, he felt someone grab the back of his jacket, and pull him up.

"Bwa!" His head popped out of the voice's reach. He gasped for air, and coughed out extra water. Jacko stared at him. "What happened to you? You were falling back down." Nick sighed. "I heard a voice...someone was trying to keep me here...forever. I almost fell for it."

"Cheep!"

Nick felt something stir in his pocket, and he pulled out Pebble from the water. "Oh! Sorry, pebble, I almost forgot you were sleeping, too." Pebble pecked him a few times on the head, and rested on his shoulder.

Jacko shrugged. "You could have kept her down there." Pebble stuck her tongue out at him, and flew over to him, landing on his head. "Hey, Jacko," Nick chuckled, "I think she likes you." Pebble nodded, and Jacko sighed.

"Perfect."

Nick looked up again. "Um, so, how do we get out?" Jacko thought for a long moment. "Hmm...the magic is interfering with my powers. How about yours?" Nick nodded. "I can't fly...this could be a problem."

Pebble flew around in the air. "...Pebble," Nick smiled, "You can still fly!" Pebble chirped. Jacko smirked. "Great. So, Pebble can go and stop Pitch and save the world, and we'll root for her down here in the well."

Nick laughed. "No, dummy. Pebble can go and get help!" Pebble saluted him, and flew off. Jacko brushed his wet hair back. "So, now what?" Nick wrung out his bangs. "...I don't know...want to play truth or dare?"

"Sure. I dare you to THINK OF SOMETHING USEFUL!"

* * *

Jack flew through the cold air. He didn't care where he was, or where he was going. He just wanted to be alone. The Guardians didn't need him, Jamie didn't need him...no one needed him. He looked down at the Earth, and spotted something.

"Hm?" He flew down to the ground, behind some tall mountains, and gawked. "What on Earth is THAT?" Sitting behind the mountains was a large bubble gum ball. It was a bright pink colour, but there were specks of dark purple on it, too.

He walked under it, and felt the soft grass against his feet. "Where did this come from?" Suddenly, from out of the bottom, Pebble popped out, bumping into his face. She whizzed around, and chirped at Jack.

"Pebble? You're here!" Jack pointed at the bubble. "What is this?" Pebble flew up to it, and patted the soft texture. "You...want me to enter the bubble," Jack chuckled, "what's in there?" Pebble wagged her tail feathers, and entered it.

"...Got nothing better to do." He floated up, and slid through the bubble. Shaking the bubble gum off of his staff, he examined the gardens. "Okay, so, this is totally not what I was expecting." He landed on the dirt ground, and smiled.

A large, flying elephant flew over him, and he chuckled. "Wow..." Pebble flew up to him, and began tugging on his hood, pulling him forward. "What is it, Pebble? What do you want me to see?" She pointed towards the centre of the garden.

"Alright, alright, I'm coming." Jack followed her in the air. A few minutes later, they landed down near an old brick well. "This is a nice touch." Jack smiled, but frowned when he heard strange voices coming from down below.

"Is this thing...haunted?" He walked over and looked down it.

"You're so uptight, Jacko."

"Nick, we're stuck in a well in a giant bubble garden in the middle of nowhere, Pitch is ready to take over the world, Pebble is who-knows-where, and we don't have our powers. Sorry if I'm being too uptight for you!"

Jack laughed. "Nick, is that you?"

Nick looked up and smiled. "Jack, you're here!" The other kid, Jack didn't know who, frowned. "This is our saving hope? Some kid with a staff?" Nick sighed. "He's Jack Frost, Jacko, not "some kid"." Jacko rolled his eyes.

"Why are you guys here?"

Nick glanced up at him. "We came here to try and find my memories, but Pitch trapped us down here without our powers."

Jack looked around, and spotted a long vine, hanging off of a tall, blue tree. "I've got it." He ripped it off, and tied one end to the tree. Taking the other end, he threw it down the well. "You can climb up, now, guys."

Jacko grabbed the other end, and tugged on it. Nick smirked. "You can trust him, you know." Jacko picked a piece of gum off of his shirt. "Please. Were you there for the Halloween of '68? I don't think so."


	22. CH 22: Memoiries can kill

"Cool." Nick floated around, and landed beside Jacko, who was almost finished with pulling gum out of his hair. Jack smirked as Pebble chewed the extra gum, blowing tiny bubbles. She cheeped every time it popped.

"So, Jack," Nick turned to him, "Why are you out here?" Jacko stuck a piece of gum onto Pebble's wings. "Yeah, you don't just fly out here for no good reasons...wherever this is on the map." Pebble grabbed the gum from her wing and threw it back at him.

Jack sighed, and sat down on a shimmering pink and yellow rock. "I've...I've quit being a Guardian." Nick gasped. "What!? Why, Jack?" Nick sat down beside him, and gripped the blue rock he was on top of. Jacko stood behind him, Pebble resting in his hair.

Jack looked down, and pulled out Jamie's blue cellphone. "The Guardians...they're always keeping secrets from me. They don't trust me...and they shouldn't." He looked up, his eyes watery. "Sophie...I let her get kidnapped by Pitch."

Jacko growled. "What's his game? Kidnapping people? Causing Memoir to disappear?" He fangs began to grow longer, and Pebble chirped. "Why does he insist on hurting so many people?"

"_I know why."_

They all turned to face the well again. Peeking out, a little girl was staring at them, holding onto the edge with her little hands, decorated in beautiful rings of all colours. Jacko cocked an eyebrow. "Memoir? You were in the well?"

She pulled herself up, and sat on the well's edge. She was wearing a sleeveless blue dress, which reached over her feet. Her black hair was in a bun, and her golden eyes shone against her dark skin. She also had a small diamond earring.

"You..." Nick stood up, and walked over to her. "You were the voice, the one telling me to sleep forever. Why?" Memoir smiled.

"_Pitch stole your memories. He knew you wouldn't sleep forever, so he took them in hopes of you wanting to sleep. However, your curiosity got the better of you, and you made friends. You were going to be a problem in Pitch's plan."_

"_So, he ordered me to trap both you and Jacko in a deep sleep, where no one would find you. Now that you're fully awake, you will be a problem, along with Jack Frost."_

Jacko bared his fangs. "Why would you listen to Pitch, Memoir? You told me you were scared of him." She jumped off of the edge.

"_Pitch has given me power, more than I've ever had. He said that, if I succeed, I can come back to life."_

Jacko sighed. "Memoir...he's lying to you." Memoir stared at him.

"_...What?"_

"Pitch was lying to you the whole time. He can't bring you back."

"_...I see. At least I know who's lying now."_

Nick felt a strange, dark presence coming from memoir. He backed up into Jacko. "Memoir..." She looked from one to the next.

"_You. You're all LYING!"_

Memoir's bun came undone, and her hair began to float wildly around her face. Her dress twirled around her legs, spinning back and fourth. Jacko pushed Nick behind him.

"Nick, you, Pebble and Jack need to get out of here. Now."

Nick went to protest, but Jack grabbed his arm, and dragged him backwards. "Let Jacko handle this, Nick. She's his friend."

Nick felt torn. Again. Every time something happened, all he could do was run away. Well, no more. "Wait." He shoved Jack's hand away. Pebble fluttered down to Jack's shoulder. Nick walked up right beside Jacko, never letting his focus leave Memoir, who glared at him.

"Memoir, why do you wish to live again?" Memoir's astonishment was almost cute. She tilted her head. _"I...I want to be loved again." _

Jacko smiled, and Nick was glad he wasn't the only one who understood. "Memoir," Jacko walked up closer to her, "I love you, right? Even if you're a ghost." Memoir seem to ponder what he was saying, but Nick could see her relax, and her hair and dress fell still.

"_You...love me?"_

She turned to Nick.

"_What about you?"_

Nick grinned. "Sure, I'll love you, too!" Jacko took her hand, and she blushed, her eyes now a simple shine. "You don't need to be alive, Memoir, to be you. You're here, right?" Memoir leaned in close to him.

"_How sweet, Jacko...too bad it's too late."_

"Huh?" Jacko looked down at her. "Late? Why are we-"

It took only three seconds.

One second for the long, dark reed that Memoir had conjured to slide right through Jacko's body.

One second for Nick to watch him fall to the ground, his eyes wide open as he disintegrated into darkness, Pebble screaming behind him, Jack calling his name.

One second for Nick to feel his horror, anguish, fear and rage to hit him all at once as he fell to his knees in front of where Jacko had fallen, only to stare at the stone cold ground surrounding the well.

Memoir smiled at him.

**"_Who says I can't have two princesses of darkness?"_**

Pitch. All he heard was Pitch. Memoir's voice was gone, replaced by his horribly sly sneer. Nick glanced up at him. Once, he thought he had felt a tiny glimmer of pity for him. Now, there was nothing but hatred. Every time he made a friend, they were taken away. The Guardians, Sophie, Halloween, and now Jacko.

"PITCH!" Jack jumped in front of Nick, and blasted at Memoir with a wave of pure ice. She ducked out of the way, and flew high up into the air.

**"_Watch that temper of yours, Jack. You've already lost everything, what more do you have to give?"_**

Memoir's body began to glow.

**"_If you want to survive to thank me personally, I would leave. I no longer have any need of this place...or this body, for that matter."_**

With that said, Memoir's body flashed a bright pink, and a dark cloud emerged from her, disappearing into the air. Memoir fell to the ground, and Jack just managed to catch her. Her eyes opened with shock, and as she looked around, Nick could see the tears pour out of her.

Pitch had made her watch what she did.

Pitch had made her kill her only friend.

And he was going to pay.

Even if Nightlight was going to have to repeat history...for good.


	23. CH 23: Believe and forgive

"_It's all my fault...all my fault..." _

Memoir whimpered quietly into Jack's shoulder as he cradled her in his arms. Pebble rubbed her head against Memoir's cheek. Nick walked over and sat beside them. He could feel the dread in the air, and he didn't know what to do about it. They sat still for a few moments, until Nick couldn't stand the quiet any longer.

"It isn't your fault, memoir," He sighed, "It's mine. All of it is my fault." Jack looked up at him, his eyes dull. "Don't say that, Nightlight." Nick shook his head. "I'm not Nightlight, Jack. I'm some kid who messed up big time in the past, and can't remember how to fix it."

Jack turned back to watch memoir shake. "I guess we both messed up big time."

"_No."_

They watched as Memoir wiped her eyes with her wrists. "Memoir?" Jack spoke softly. "What is it?" She stood up, and brushed her dress off, Pebble still sitting on her shoulder.

"_This isn't your fault, and it isn't mine. It's Pitch's. He's done this, not us. You have to stop him, before he takes over the world, and sends it back into the dark ages. You're the only ones who can do it."_

Jack and Nick stood up in front of her, and smiled. "Right," Jack picked his staff up, "no more moping about. We need to save Sophie – and this time, I won't let her down."

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the sound of rumbling came. The ground shook, and the plants began to wither. Nick nearly fell over, and Jack had to catch Memoir. "Memoir," Jack's voice was shaky, "what's happening?!"

"_Pitch is trying to destroy my home!"_

Pebble chirped like crazy. "No," Nick looked around, "he can't!" The flying elephants roared and wailed in fear, flying around in circles. Jack took his staff in both hands. "We have to save it!"

"_You mean I have to save it."_

Jack stared sternly at Memoir. "No. We're not leaving you like this."

"_You don't have a choice! You need to leave and defeat Pitch. I'll take care of my home, trust me! Jacko would have believed in me!"_

The mere mention of his name shook Memoir, and she hugged her arms, as if a chill had suddenly blown through. Jack studied her, tried to read any sort of weakness, then smiled. "Right. You CAN save your home, and I DO believe in you, Memoir. I'm sorry."

Nick nodded his head. "You can do this, Memoir. Don't worry, we'll save Jacko." Memoir smirked.

"_You can't save Jacko, Nick, but you can save your friends. Don't worry about the past, please. Just do what you have to do right now."_

Nick could see how hard it was for Memoir to speak about forgetting Jacko. He smiled. "Okay." He turned to Jack. "Let's go." They began to fly up into the air, and Jack glanced down at Pebble, who was still holding onto Memoir's neck.

"Pebble," she blinked up at Nick, "I need you to make sure that Memoir is safe, okay?" Pebble's smile brightened, and she saluted to him. Memoir petted her head. Nick took one last look at them, and flew off with Jack.

"_Good luck...Nightlight."_

Dodging wild flying elephants, chunks of rock and bubble gum droppings, Nick and Jack finally zipped through the bubbly entrance, and into the darkening sky. It was becoming late. "Nick," Jack nudged his shoulder, and Nick turned to see Memoir's world turn a fully dark purple colour, and begin to twist out of proportion.

"She'll be fine," Nick spoke firmly, "I believe in her." Jack pulled out his phone. "You probably know how to use this better than I do." Nick took the phone, and flipped it open. "Jack...go and find the Guardians."

Jack gripped his staff, and ice sparks shot out of it. "I can't. I quit, remember?" Nick smirked. "You don't just quit the Guardians, Jack. They're your family. You can't just quit family, can you?" Jack smiled back at him. "I guess you're right in many ways about that. What about you?"

* * *

"Do you think he'll be here, Bunny?"

"He'll be here, trust me."

Tooth sighed. Bunny had told them to wait with him in Burgess' forest, at the spot where Pitch used to have a tunnel leading into his world. She hugged Baby tooth closer to her chest. "Just a little longer...I hope."

A large gust of cold wind answered her question. The Guardians looked up. Floating down slowly, Jack landed on the ground on his feet, his staff by his side. He looked from one face to the next, and smiled. "Hey, guys."

"Oh, Jack-!" Tooth rushed up and hugged him. "I'm so sorry about the secrets, and everything else!" Jack chuckled. "It's okay, Tooth." Sandy pulled her back to let Jack breath, and he smiled warmly at him. "Hey, Sandy. Long time no see." Sandy winked at him.

North walked up to him. "Glad to see you again, Jack." Jack sighed. "North...about my resignation?" North snickered. "Consider it...history. Poof! Gone with the wind." He patted Jack's shoulder. "Welcome back."

Bunnymund stepped up in front of him. "I knew you'd come, frostbite." He smiled, as well. "I was starting to miss ya, mate." Jack let his staff float beside him, and hugged Bunnymund. "I was starting to miss you, too, you oversized kangaroo."

Bunnymund didn't know what to say. So, he hugged Jack back. "Oi, don't start crying on me fur." Jack laughed, and stepped back. Baby tooth kissed him on the cheek. "Keep it together, Baby tooth," Tooth giggled.

Jack grabbed his staff. "I met up with Nick." They gasped. "Where, mate?" Bunnymund pulled out his boomerang. "Let me at Pitch, there, I'll whip 'im up good!" Jack sighed. "He said that...that he was going to fight Pitch on his own."

The Guardians exchanged sad and worried looks, and Jack grinned. "Oh, come on, you think I'd actually let him go off on his own and fight Pitch? Would any of us?" Bunnymund smirked, and North bellowed with laughter. "Jack is right. Let us take down Pitch, once and for all!"


	24. CH 24: On my own

"I hope this thing has his number."

Nick sat on a small rock beside a large waterfall in the middle of a tiny forest somewhere in an uncharted area of Asia, the Country name that kept ringing off on the phone's GPS. The water splashed against a couple of jagged boulders underneath it, sending out a soft mist throughout the air.

Nick flipped open the phone, and began to scroll through all of Jamie's numbers. He had flown for about twenty minutes after telling Jack to return to the Guardians. What he was about to do was his battle, not theirs. Whatever mistakes he had made, he needed to fix them on his own.

Soon, he came across a familiar number. "Bennett." He pressed enter, and held the phone up to his ear. After two short rings on the other end of the line, someone picked up.

"_Hello? Who is this?"_

The line was filled with static, but Nick could just make out someone's voice on the other end. "Hey, Jamie."

"_..Nick? Nick, is that you?! For real?!"_

"It's me, Jamie. Long time no see, huh?"

"_Yes, of course! Where are you, Nick?"_

"Uh,...Asia, somewhere uncharted, I'm afraid. Your GPS must hate me, because it keeps bleeping at me. Jack gave me your phone, by the way."

"_That's fine...wait a minute...you're in ASIA?! How did you get there? I thought you had been kidnapped."_

"It's a long story, one I don't have time to tell. Look, Jamie, about Sophie,-"

"_I know. The Guardians tried to save her, and they couldn't, and I yelled at them, but now I feel really bad about it. I...I'm sorry."_

Nick smiled. Jamie wasn't the type of person to hold a grudge, especially against people such as the Guardians. "Look, Jamie, I need your help."

"_I don't think I'm allowed to fly out to Asia on my own, Nick. My passport is out of date."_

He heard laughter on the other end, but it was a sad laugh. "Don't worry, Jamie, I'm not asking you to fly out here. I'm asking you to tell the Guardians...tell them goodbye for me."

"_Goodbye? You're not leaving, are you? Where will you go?"_

"I have something I need to do, Jamie, something..." He felt his voice get caught in his throat. "...Something I'm probably not coming back from. Tell them that I really do appreciate all that they've done for me, but Nightlight has to go now."

"_Nightlight?...Oh, yeah, that's you. Wait! Where are you going?! You're coming back, right?! You're JOKING, right?!"_

Nick could feel the tension in the air as Jamie spoke, his voice reaching higher with each word. "No, Jamie, I'm not joking. Pitch isn't a joke."

"_You're going after PITCH?! On your own? No way!"_

"I need to, Jamie. I have to save your sister, and Pitch is only doing all of this because of me. For some reason, I messed up, and now, I have to fix it."

"_You don't have to fight on your own, Nick. You have us!"_

"This is too dangerous."

"_I've fought him before! I helped the Guardians beat him before!"_

"He didn't take lives before."

Silence hung in the air. Nick was afraid that he had lost the connection, but he heard Jamie breath in on the other end.

"_I know Pitch is scary, and he's mean. He's evil, but... I wanna help you. WE want to help you."_

"No, Jamie. Go and tell the Guardians that I was more than happy for their help, and wait until Sophie comes back. I'm going to get her out of there, and then Pitch is mine to handle."

"_But what if you're not strong enough? What if you can't win? What if you DIE?!"_

Those questions hit him hard. He knew that Pitch was stronger than him, but he wasn't going to back down now. "I know what might happen. I can't just leave this."

"_Please, Nick. I don't want to lose you. No one who's ever taken care of me and Sophie, not even our mom, believes in the Guardians like you do. Don't leave. We need you here...I need you here."_

Nick heard short breaths. Jamie was about to cry, and he couldn't do anything about it. "Jamie, wait-"

"_Sara was nothing but a nightmare."_

Sara? Who was that? Did he mean their other babysitter, the young girl? "Who's Sara?"

"_Our other sitter. She was working for Pitch, and she's the one who kidnapped Sophie. You have to let us help!"_

Great. One more factor to deal with. "Goodbye, Jamie. I'm sorry."

"_Please, Nick, no! Don't do this!"_

He could make out the crying, the weeping Jamie did as he spoke. "Tell your mom I moved out of town,"

"_Nick, stop it! Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!"_

"Tell Sophie that I had to leave,"

"_Just shut up and listen to me!"_

"Tell Jack that he IS a Guardian,"

"_YOU tell him that!"_

"Jamie,"

"_COME BACK HOME, NICK!"_

"For you and Sophie,"

"_NICK! Nick, pick UP! Are you still there?! PLEASE! NICK!"_

"...Love you guys."

"_NICK!"_

One swift movement, and the phone was in the river, where it slowly glided along the currents, until it hit the rocky bottom, the screen still glowing. Nick sighed, and wiped his watery eyes. Standing up, he floated away, higher and higher into the air, until he was above the tree line.

"Now," he mumbled, "to find a way back into Pitch's layer."

"_Just shut up and listen to me!"_

Jamie's words echoed in his mind.

"_YOU tell him that!"_

He shook his head.

"_PLEASE! NICK!"_

Right about then, Jamie had only ever called him Nick directly. It made him feel good inside. It was the only good thing he had to go on. The Guardians weren't going to help him. Jamie wasn't going to help him. Jacko wasn't going to help him, Memoir, Pebble, baby tooth, Sophie...

He was on his own.


	25. CH 25: Lonely lair

"Nick? NICK?!" Jamie yelled into his phone, but it was no good. He sat on his bed, holding the wireless black house phone, trying to keep himself together, but Nick wasn't answering. "...Please, Nick..."

Soon, the signal went dead.

_We're sorry, the line has been disconnected. Please try again._

Jamie tapped in his cell's number again, and held the phone up to his ear.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

_We're sorry, the line has been-_

Again he tapped it in.

Ring. Ring. Ring.

_We're sorry-_

Jamie threw the phone onto the ground. The screen shut off, and it went dead. He felt his heart race, and tears were still pouring down his face. "...Nick!" He screamed, but he knew no one would hear him, or comfort him. The Guardians thought he hated them, Sophie had been kidnapped, Sara was evil, and now Nick was going to go off and risk his life.

He sat alone on his bed and shook his head. He glanced over to his side to see his light brown bunny with black button eyes starring at him. He picked it up. "Jack..." He remembered how he had almost lost hope in the Guardians before, just as Jack Frost had convinced him that they were real.

He hugged it, and felt its soft touch against his wet hands from wiping away his tears. "Well, I have you...I guess..." He sighed. Even the bunny wasn't smiling at him. He let the bunny drop in front of him. It wasn't comforting.

"Jamie?"

Jamie gasped, and looked over to his closed door.

"Jamie? You in there?"

A young female voice was muffled behind it. He wiped his face on the bed blanket, and jumped off of his bed. "Sophie?!" He smiled, and walked over, swinging the door open. "Sophie, I knew Nick would-"

It wasn't Sophie. It was Pippa.

She was wearing a green long sleeved shirt, blue jeans and blue sneakers. Jamie felt his smile fade away quickly. Pippa smiled sadly. "Hey, Jamie. I was walking outside your house, and I heard you yelling. Is something wrong? And why did you think I was Sophie?"

Jamie motioned to his bed, and as they sat down beside each other, he told her everything, from that morning with Sara, to Sophie being kidnapped and him yelling at the Guardians, to getting the call from Nick only a few minutes ago.

Pippa listened intently, and sighed once Jamie was finished. "Wow. Rough day, huh?" Jamie slipped off of the bed, and turned to face her. "Rough day? ROUGH DAY?! Sophie's gone, Nick is gone, the Guardians are gone...I'm all alone!"

Pippa crossed her arms. "Uh, hello? I'm right here." Jamie stared at her, and she moaned. "Jamie, you're not alone in this. You have me." She stood up beside him, and smiled. "I was there to help you fight Pitch, and I wasn't the only one."

She glanced around his room, and pointed to one of his pictures, a drawing of him and his friends. "There," she pointed to it, "you have me, and Cupcake, and Monty, and Caleb, and Claude. We were all there, Jamie, and we still are here!"

She held his shoulder. "Look. We might not be Guardians, or have super powers like them, or...have a babysitting license like Nick does...hopefully. We might not be able to fly out to Asia, or even find the rest of the Guardians. But we are here to help, no matter what it takes...if you just believe."

Jamie examined the picture. It was from two years ago, when he was sent flying in the air on his sled by Jack on a cold snow day. He smiled at the memory, and shook his head. "How can I be so stupid!" He turned to Pippa again.

"You're right, Pippa!" He paced around his room. "I'm not alone! And neither is Nick!" He jumped with excitement. "We've gotta help him, and the Guardians!" Pippa nodded. "Yeah!...Let's go get the others! I just know they'll be wanting to help out!"

Jamie looked around his room. "There!" racing over to the other side of his bed, he ducked under it, and stood up, holding a small, Christmas coloured sphere. Pippa gasped. "Isn't that...?" Jamie nodded. "That's right. One of Santa's spheres, and our ticket into Pitch's realm. Come on, let's go get the others. It's so on!"

* * *

"Found it." Nick stared down a dark cave cavern, no light anywhere. After a half an hour of flying, he had found a tunnel that would lead him strait back into Pitch's realm. He could sense the darkness within it, without having to second guess.

He sighed. "Alright, so, all I have to do is free Sophie, get her home, defeat Sara, and take down pitch once and for all...what could go wrong?" He didn't feel as confident as he sounded, and he knew it. Beating Pitch and Sara was probably going to be the last thing he ever did.

Slowly, he floated down the tunnel, careful to listen for any talking or moving around him. He couldn't be surprised or ambushed at such a time. Soon, he began to hear the sound of wind, and a low cackling laughter.

"I'm close," he whispered to himself, "now to find Sophie. Top priority." He stopped and hid at the edge of the exit of the tunnel, and peeked around it.

He had found Pitch's lair.

Glancing around, he couldn't spot Sara or Pitch. He had to find Sophie. So, he flew out. The cages creaked, swaying slightly back and fourth. He felt like he was being watched, but he didn't see anyone around.

"Sophie?" He called out quietly, hoping to not gain any unwanted attention. "Sophie?" He looked around in all directions. All he could see were hundreds of empty cages. He reminded him of something, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

He spotted the giant world globe that Jacko had broken when they were first there. He had to look away. "Jacko...Halloween..." He flew off in the opposite direction, trying to spot anyone around. He searched everywhere, even around the globe at times, for thirty minutes.

"Sophie? Where are you?"

He couldn't find her anywhere.

Sophie was gone.

"...Where are you?"

"**You're about to find out."**


End file.
